Deliverer One Lost
by Lord52's Speculation Fortress
Summary: After a shocking coup d'état lead by a mysterious politician, Nick Wilde is all but alone in the fight for the city's freedom. He can't do it without Judy, but he's going to need some help to find her.
1. Prologue

**Foreword**

This story is dedicated to my dearest cat Mork, who passed away at a young age [for a cat] earlier this year as well as Benson, my pet bunny who went off to chart his own course last December.

 _[Punctuation Adjusted 20/01/2019]_

* * *

 **2016.**

A feline with silver and black fur descended from a stage in the foyer of the Zootopia Police Department HQ. A rabbit in ceremonial police uniform stood at the foot of the stairs, waiting for him.

"Well done Doctor, are you sure you've never done a press conference before?" she said.

"Yes, that's the first," replied the Doctor in a posh accent, shifting his spectacles.

Nearby, the reporters, journalists and camera-folk were calling it a day. Mammals under the effects of Midnicampum Holicithias were all on their way to being well again.

"Well, on behalf of the ZPD and the many who suffered during such a dark time, I'd like to thank you for all you've done," said the rabbit.

"Hmm, yes. It was not just I, yes the giants, the shoulders of which I stood upon, were formed of my stalwart team of like-minded physicians." the feline said amidst an adjustment of his spectacles.

Her voice trailed off as she said, "Of course. I'm sorry I didn't quite catch you're name..."

"Ah. Doctor Nikolai Augustus Katzendale, M.D., Ph.D. Though you may call me Niko," he said in a genuine friendly manner.

"Ph.D., huh? What's your field?" she asked.

"Biology. Though my work typically does not stray far from genetics," jumping at the chance to talk to a pretty girl about science.

"In fact, I've been writing a paper called 'Pre-sentiology – The Science Of Civilization' which is all about common genes across very disimilar species and-" Niko stopped on account of the rabbit's gaze shift to something behind him.

Niko turned and saw a fox approaching them, he had to fight to stop his fur bristling. Turning back to the rabbit, it seemed she'd spotted the fox as well – and was happy to see him.

"Excuse me, Doctor. It was nice meeting you," she said, walking around Niko to greet the newcomer. The look in her eye told him all he needed to know about her romantic availability.

It was strange and perplexing, yet undeniably fascinating watching these two supposed polar opposites interact. Nikolai could see the fox cared for this bunny. The bunny seemed fairly unaware of just how much, even less aware of how much she cared for him.

The cat's heart grew heavy with a familiar pained feeling and being in public thusly became unbearable. And so it was time to go home to the abusive partner that was his own conscience.

Alternatively, he could visit a bar and possibly find someone to spend the night with. Of course, the struggle with that plan would be finding someone that wasn't a current or ex-patient because that is a serious no-no, the other issue is finding a place where few mammals know him.

' _What you'd would give to_ _be_ _an actual nobody like your brother,_ ' thought Niko to himself.

The doctor finally left the ZPD building. On his way out, a rather large ungulate intercepted him.

He said with a booming voice, "Good afternoon, Doctor Katzendale."

"Er- Afternoon... Who are you?" asked Niko with a weak smile, his ears pressed flat against his head.

"For now, just call me Ezra," said the Ungulate.

"Well, cordial greetings to you, Ezra," said Niko.

There was only silence from the large creature, obviously a Bison, wearing an expensive white suit.

"Heh... W-was there something you were after, mister erm- mister Ezra?" asked the comparatively tiny feline.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I have a project- no, an opportunity I want to discuss with you. In private," boomed Ezra.

Niko looked about the area outside ZPD HQ. Busy animals moved hither and thither, yet the cat felt as though he was already alone with this beast.

"I suppose so..." said Niko, wearily.

Ezra's expression softened and what seemed like nervousness seemed to disappear from his posture. Behind him, a black limousine pulled up and the bison gestured towards the side door, that opened from some unspoken command.

"After you, Doctor," He said, "I made sure to bring champagne," he added.

Niko just tipped his head slightly in confusion, then wordlessly entered the vehicle, the bison followed. At this point, he wasn't even remotely concerned with what was happening around him.

With all it's intended occupants inside, the limo glided away from the kerb and cruised off downtown.


	2. Chapter I: Felidae Anonymous

_This chapter takes place less than two years following the prologue._

* * *

In a diner at the Southeast end of Savanna Central, the 3-7pm radio show played whilst two unlikely friends shared a table, trying to unwind before a busy day.

"...And all these missing mammals... It's an eerie reminder of that little incident two years ago," said one radio host.

"Except this time most of them are prey. I say most because one or two predators have disappeared too."

"And Bellwether is locked up good."

There came to be a somewhat awkward pause almost as if the normally talkative radio duo Ronno and Ren had run out of ideas.

Perhaps to kill said awkward pause,Ronno said, "Three cheeses, she sure was crazy,"

"Bonkers. Barmy," replied Ren.

"You know, they say that each night, in her cell, she hops in front of her mirror to count herself."

Ren could only snort in response to that comment.

"Yep. And then, after about twenty minutes she drops, dead tired, and falls asleep pretty much straight away," said Ronno in an informative tone.

"Oh. I think I heard about this, some Muzzlebook post or something."

"Hang on, I'll bring it up on my phone." There was a brief silence. "Here. So, from Geraldine Girafferty, the _warden_ of the East Zootopian Centre For Female Convicts - affectionately named facility right there - posted this: 'I came across our dearest inmate Dawn Bellwether jumping about her cell in front of the mirror #Bellwether #WardenMoments.'"

"I just read further up. Girafferty only posts stuff about her inmates. If #WardenMoments weren't so disrespectful I think I'd laugh," after mere seconds, both of them gave way to laughter.

"Cut the moral high ground crap, Ren."

"Okay. It's a little funny, like watching people deliberately acting like idiots."

"Yeah, you make great comic relief, just like that."

"I learn from the best, mate."

The two laughed off the casual insults and gradually regained their composure so they could finish the segment.

"So as it turns out, sheep do count themselves at night," said Ronno, sounding intelligent. Ren giggled and snickered uncontrollably, creating some confusion in Ronno, "What?"

"Do you know how offensive that sounds?" asked Ren, mid-laugh.

"W-well... Okay. _Some_ sheep count themselves at night."

Ren boldly suggested, "We should do a challenge, see how long we can hop in front of a mirror."

Ronno huffed, "I'm still recuperating from the 30 hour go-cart stint."

"Alright, 6:08 PM, we've got some Ewe2 lined up."

A fox watched the speaker as a familiar ballad started to play. He turned his attention away from the radio and to the bunny he sat across from.

"They stole my joke," He said after a short while.

"Hmmm? The sheep thing? Yeah. They stole the 'joke' you quipped two years ago."

"Well, I'll have you know, I neglected to wear my tinfoil hat that day. The government could've read my mind!" exclaimed the fox with a forced expression of fear. A sly smile spread across his features, "It'd be kinda handy if folks could read minds. My coffee would never be ordered wrong again."

"But I order our coffees..." said the rabbit, sounding a bit confused. The fox was quiet as the cogs whirred. Judy's expression turned from perplexed to annoyed and she threw a punch into the arm Nick was using to lean on the table.

"Ow!" yelped Nick as he crumpled onto the table. Despite the sudden pain, his smile held, "police brutality. That'll bruise!"

As a silence came between them, Nick began thinking of another way to be a pest when something caught his eye. He saw some kind of predator, about 3-foot tall, waiting tables. Judy often knew odd tidbits of information such as the specific name of an obscure species.

"Hey, Carrots..."

The rabbit looked up from her smartphone, "Hmm?"

"Over there... That... Feline. What is he?"

Judy turned in her seat to see what Nick was looking at. She saw him, the 'cat'. He had a small but slightly stocky stature, short but thick fur. It was a creamy gold colour, almost blonde, similar colouration to a Savanna dwelling feline. An elaborate striped pattern of a pale tan colour decorated his face and arms, suggesting some kind of East germanic wildcat. His height suggested something else altogether.

' _Familiar profile..._ ' she thought as the creature turned to face another table. "I-I don't know... Obviously some variety of Felidae but I couldn't say specifically..." her voice trailed off as a feeling of déjà vu settled in her shoulders.

"Don't stare," said Nick as the feline pivoted and started walking in their direction. Glancing briefly at his empty glass, Nick tapped the short predator on the shoulder as he passed, "Uh, Excuse me?"

The creature turned and habitually produced a notepad and pen which looked far too large for his paws. He spoke with a youthful but smooth voice: "Can I help you sir?"

"Yes. May I have a refill on the soda? Cola, couple of ice cubes, thanks," he turned to the rabbit, "Carrots, you want anything?"

Judy blinked, her mind still caught on identifying this cat's species. "Uh... Is it too late to get a slice of carrot cake?"

"No, not at all," came the confident reply from the cat whose name badge read 'KENNY'. He scribbled down some words on his notepad, mumbling as he went, "Cola, ice... c-a-r-r-o-t cake..."

"Sorry to cause a fuss, but can I get just a half or even quarter of a slice? I doubt I'd make it through a whole piece like the ones I saw in the case."

"Uh, yup..." his voiced trailed off and his caramel brow furrowed, "About the c-cake..." he started, nervously glancing toward the serve-over. "t-tell you what, I'll see w-what I can do. About th-that." he turned to look at Judy, " I'll do my best to um, s-sort that out for you."

"Thank you... Kenny," said Judy, reading the badge pinned to his polo. She noticed he didn't really make eye contact, he just focused on a point somewhere between her eyes, perhaps her nose.

Nick watched the creature turn and make his way towards what must have been the kitchen. The predator certainly spoke well, rendering perfect customer service. At least until a complication arose, breaking a façade and inducing a noticeable stutter.

"Oh you..." said Nick in a patronizing tone.

"What? You remember what happened _last time_."

Nick shuddered, "That _was_ awful, you threw up everywhere... Ruining the car's upholstery. We had to walk everywhere for ages."

"For one week – make that 6 days. And hello? A: you have a license. B: you have a car."

' _I knew that,_ ' he thought, ' _I just conveniently forgot... For some reason..._ '

"Hey, dopey!" Judy waved a paw in front of the fox's face, "Earth to Officer Wilde, Hello?"

Nick swiped the fluffy mitt away, not realising how long he'd zoned out for, "Cut it out," he said.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, Slick?"

' _Stuff... Things,_ ' he thought. Nick remembered the radio and gave a nonchalant answer; "Just current events."

"There's less uncertainties this time... Well, _different_ uncertainties," Judy tapped on the table looking thoughtful, "You worried about Finnick? You two were close."

A year and a half ago, mammals had started to vanish, increasing in frequency since then. Now, as of November of 2018, there are twenty missing. Prey, predator, large and small; whatever made them disappear was indiscriminate. Finnick was among the first reported missing, Nick had filed that case himself.

Nick said morosely, "...Yeah. I try not to think about it, keep my mind on the present," then he felt a warm paw on his shoulder.

"Sleuthing is all about the past. Besides, it'll all look clearer tomorrow, I'm sure. "

"Will it now?" he asked, sounding quizzical.

"My money's on the mystery mammal."

"Oh right. The 'crimelord'. And I thought I was the tacky one," thoughts clouded Nick's expression, "you seem certain he's connected with the missing mammals..."

"Well... I'm not certain of a whole lot... Yet," as she spoke, a grin spread across her features, her eyes had a sudden spark, "yes, this mysterious character only came to our attention recently, but he's more of a puppeteer than an overlord. What we've heard correlates with a lot of political movement that occurred just before we busted Bellwether. There's a trail of things amiss in not only the mayoral administration but also low-tier _government_ proceedings. It fits together too well. But..." her voice petered out slowly.

Nick's heart sank as the enthusiasm drained from his friend, "but what...?"

"I haven't got the slightest hint of a name, he/she has covered his/her tracks far too well," she paused before adding, "can't afford to be sexist these days."

Before the fox could try to console the disheartened lagomorph, the cat had returned. On a comically large tray was a glass of fizzing something adorned with a bendy straw and a saucer with a bunny sized slice of carrot cake. The feline had to rest the edge of the tray on the table to pass out the items.

"Cola for sir," he said as he placed the glass in front of Nick, "aaaand an appropriately sized piece of carrot cake for ma'am," he deftly maneouvered the saucer to it's intended recipient, "I spoke to my manager, there'll be a note on the bill so you only get charged half for the slice."

"Oh, thank you!"

"Not a problem. You two have a lovely evening," said he, stepping away with the tray in his paws. He stopped a few meters away, and leaving the tray on a vacant table, he turned and paced back to the fox and bunny.

"Hi, sorry to bother you," he said, "you wouldn't happen to be _officer Hopps_ , would you?"

Judy held a paw up, finishing a mouthful of cake, "yes, that would be me."

"Oh really? Wow, you know, it's not everyday you meet a real hero."

Nick watched the cat closely. Something about him made the fox very uncomfortable. He seemed nice enough, friendly and polite, if a little awkward. But a kind of indescribable vibe came off him, the vibe of someone not completely honest – be it with himself or with others. _Nick knew the type_.

"Well, I wasn't alone. I couldn't have done it without this guy-" she turned to point out Nick, who'd disappeared from his seat. The sight that met her eyes next took her aback.

Without even making a sound, Nick came to be standing opposite 'Kenny'. A clear foot taller, he stood over the blonde cat, staring him down. The feline stared back, his blue eyes taking on a sudden chill.

Judy watched the two for what felt like several minutes. ' _Are they... Sizing each other up?_ ' thought Judy as she pondered likely outcomes. If a fight broke out, Nick had some advantages but he was no combat master – she couldn't afford to be presumptuous about his opponent. Judy also noted a sort of protectiveness surrounding Nick's current impulsive behaviour.

"Don't you have a job you should be doing?" Nick asked flatly.

That seemed to strike a nerve, "don't you? _Officer?_ Don't you have a job to do?" the cat's eyes burned as he bared his small, sharp teeth. His speech carried a muted hiss, "you kick back with your cute little bunny friend while the world around you turns to _shit!_ "

Judy was thankful there was some kind of party happening in the diner to reduce the number of mammals aware of this strange confrontation. The rabbit prepared her usual response to the trigger word however Nick beat her to it.

"I was just a little suspicious before. But now you've crossed a line, pal," the fox raised a finger and pointed it at the cat, "you _do not_ call a bunny cute! It's, it's..."

"Offensive? You think I don't know?" the feline's unsheathed claws glinted in the somewhat pale light as he gesticulated.

"Nick, relax. I can handle this," said, Judy in a somewhat vain attempt to defuse the situation. This was going nowhere fast.

"Yes. Perhaps you should let the lady speak for herself. Being stereotyped is hard, but I imagine it must be like much worse when you've got a big orange mouthpiece following you around!"

"M-mouthpiece?"

Before the tension could get any more palpable, the room went dark with a dull zap.

* * *

Judy felt her ears twist as tyres screeched outside while someone in the diner had fallen over. Though she could see very little, she knew the two predators could still see each other thanks to their reflective tapeta lucida.

After half a dozen car horns, everything was silent. From somewhere down the road, a voice called out: "You alright down there...?"

"Yeah... I think..." came another voice. After a brief silence, the same voice rang out, sounding shocked: "Mother of God, the skyscrapers have gone dark!"

Murmuring in the diner brought Judy's attention front and center. Her eyes had adjusted – sort of – and she could see two pairs of glowing dots, green on the left and a deep blue on the right.

Judy idly thought, ' _Now what?_ '

These blackouts had become more and more common since Judy moved to the city. The worst was in Tundratown when the enviro-wall lost all power for 48 hours. The resulting defrost destroyed thousands of dollars of frozen infrastructure, including the novel ice-floe based public transport utilized there.

The speakers on the walls started to emit quiet static, flourescent tubes clicked and flickered into life. As music from the radio faded in, mammals throughout the diner went about their business. Some were visibly nervous, maybe even a little shook up, others were merely pissed at the disruption.

The two predators hadn't moved.

A gruff voice emanating from a beaver, sounded beside them, "Kenneth. Out back. Now."

"Damn it," the colour seemed to drain from the cat's pelt. His icy expression dropped and he skulked off toward a distant door.

The beaver, who Judy figured must've been the proprietor of this establishment, shook a hairy limb at Nick, mumbling something indistinct and waddling off in the direction 'Kenny' went.

After a thoughtful glance around the room, Judy daintily hopped down from her seat and sauntered off, also headed for the door beside the serve-over case.

"Where are you going?" asked Nick, his neck fur still settling from the confrontation.

The bunny stopped and turned to say "I'm grabbing a mop." Briefly pausing after her metaphor she said, "don't fill my tab with blueberry stuff again," before continuing on her way.

' _Ever the arbiter,_ ' thought Nick as he watched Judy push through the door into what must have been 'the back'. The fox had to admit this wasn't a good situation for a cop. He also had to admit he may have started it.

* * *

Judy looked about the space she had entered. Multiple health and safety violations were apparent but that wasn't what she was here for.

' _I'll pin that on the board for if I need it later,_ ' she thought, following the sound of dialogue.

She recognized the proprietor's voice straight away: "You are lucky to have this job."

"I know. That's why I'd never do anything to deliberately jeopardize my employment here."

The Beaver said, "You know, you weren't the only one of _your sort_ to apply," his voice carring derogatory inflections and a scolding tone

' _His sort? Does he mean predator?_ ' thought Judy as she edged closer to the voices. There was a short silence as the cat had nothing to say.

"I hear things. About your kind. That you don't care for nothing but yourselves."

"Anything," came the immediate though slightly sheepish retort.

"What?"

"Double negative," his voice was still quiet, "you should say 'don't care for _anything_ but yourselves'"

"That's another thing what I hear about you!" grumbled the beaver, sounding suitably unimpressed, "You could have a bloody gun to your head, you'll still correct everybody's grammar!"

The cat looked like he was going to say something but thought better of it, choosing instead to sit silently. This was the arbiter's cue.

Judy called out: "Hello?"

"Hmm? Oh..." mumbling unintelligibly for a few seconds, the beaver then properly acknowledged her, "staff only, ma'am. Please get out."

"Just hear me out," she said, taking a few steps closer to the proprietor and thusly the cat, who watched her with an intently curious expression, "I'm officer Judy Hopps – obviously off-duty but that's neither here nor there."

"And...?"

' _You're an ass._ ' she thought, "I'd just like to apologise on behalf of my colleague. With everything that's happening in the city, he's gotten a little paranoid is all – maybe a little tetchy, too. That's all, thank you."

Not sure what to do next, Judy left with a quiet nod. The beaver turned to look at Kenny, who just shrugged with a 'don't look at me, how should I know?' expression.

* * *

[In accordance with feedback, I've been fixing my dialogue punctuation. Oh what a mess I've found myself in, it's like mowing an entire lawn without realizing there's not a bag on the mower.]


	3. Chapter II: The Officer's New Clothes

Trucks, cars and station-wagons drove this way and that outside Zootopia's precinct one on a cold and cloudy night. Some heavy officers lined up, others geared up. Chief Bogo was making rounds whilst some military looking folks all stood around a truck being briefed by a wolf with Major's clusters on his shoulders. This was the scene that Judy, dressed in an all-black field uniform, was presented with.

"Chief!" she called out, hoping to get Bogo's attention.

The hefty cape buffalo silently acknowledged the address, finished his words to Officer Krumpanski with a pat on the shoulder and walked over to greet the rabbit.

"Ah, Hopps. Five minutes early. For you that's about ten minutes late," he said with a slight grin.

"Well, I'm still trying to get this new getup broken in," said Judy.

The chief of police tapped a pen on his clipboard, "ah, yes. Speaking of which, there's a technician here," Bogo paused to look around, "somewhere to walk you through it's features."

' _Features?_ ' thought the rabbit, ' _What kind of features? That fact that it's black and not blue?_ '

As Delgato passed the two officers, Bogo grabbed the tiger's arm, "Hey, where's that representative?"

"East side," he said before swiftly departing.

Bogo turned back to Judy, "there. It's somebody from the company that designed your new gear."

"Right. I'll make my way over," said Hopps with a nod.

It took little time for Judy to find the only white van in a space full of mostly-black police vehicles and some olive drab trucks.

The rabbit saw a slim yet curvy figure leaning next to the open side door of the van. Even in a casual posture, scrolling through a smartphone with a bored look on her face, Judy could tell she was the type that'd turn heads. To put it one way, if the word 'beautiful' were applied to the vixen in question, it'd be a considerable understatement.

The arctic fox spotted Hopps out of the corner of her eye. This prompted her stand up straight and step towards the rabbit officer, displaying an overtly feminine gait.

"Officer Hopps, I presume?" she said, in a rich, silky voice.

Maintaining her enthusiasm, Judy replied: "Y-yes, that's me!"

The fox took one further step closer to her and held out a paw, "Watterson. _Lilith_ Watterson, I'm here to give an overview of your new gear."

Judy shook outstretched paw and said, "Judy Hopps. Though you already knew that."

Lilith motioned Judy to follow her to the van, "Yes, in fact I've heard a lot about you."

"Don't believe a word of it, I'm really quite a sweetheart!" said the rabbit, rather coyly.

"Oh there's no doubt about that..." said Lilith whilst retrieving some crates and a clipboard.

The slender creature set up a laptop, opened some cases and laid some gadgets on a table with Judy looking on. She picked up the clipboard again as well as a pen from her blazer pocket.

"So how's the fit, eh?" she asked the rabbit.

Judy shuffled on her long feet, "Hmm... Well... Not great."

"Thought as much," said Lilith as she ticked a box, "it's what happens when you use measurements that are two years old... But what would a vixen know about clothes, hmm?"

Judy decided that question was rhetorical.

"That being said, it provides us with an excellent opportunity," Said Lilith, picking up some sort of vest and something that looked like a strapless wristwatch.

She passed the vest to Judy, the front of which was fairly plain, save for a few aesthetic looking seam lines however the back had a flat rectangular plate that resembled some kind of body armour. She jumped with fright as once the vest was resting on her shoulders, the straps tightened and the interior surfaces moulded to the shape of her upper torso.

"Fancy, huh? Like it's giving you a hug, give me your paw," said Lilith, brandishing the watch-thing, "this'll fix the body suit."

Judy held out her paw and the fox placed the gadget on a round spot on the garment's sleeve, flipping a switch to activate it. The thing beeped and dozens of blue lights blinked all over the entire ensemble.

"Disco mode?" queried Judy.

"Ha. That's a good one, I ought to remember that for later." Said Lilith.

The arctic fox pressed some buttons on the wrist device's keypad. Judy watched words come and go on the attached LCD screen, things like 'SYSTEM SETTINGS', 'POWER SETTINGS' and the like. Eventually, Lilith pressed 'START' while 'AUTO-CALIBRATE' was selected.

The wrist device emitted a computerized voice: "Beginning garment cali-bration. Hardware detected: Version one conforming hard vest. Onboard sensors: Active. Environmental control: Not applicable. Battery status: Discharging. Power level: 98 per-cent."

The little machine was silent as the rabbit's new clothes adjusted to a perfect fit.

"Calibration complete. Welcome to the Lagomorph Patrol Dress Uniform Mark II Semi-powered Recon and Patrol Suite." Said the device, this time in a more cheery voice.

"Pretty fancy, eh?" said Lilith rhetorically, "yes, my father was supposed to run this little errand, but he figured his time was better spent hunting lost prototypes and visiting prospective sites for a branch here in the city."

"Well I think I'm gonna have to call my partner. He says he's going to sit on his sofa to 'rest his eyes' and ends up falling asleep. What's the bet that's the case here?" said the rabbit to the arctic fox.

"If he's anything like my father, it's _at least_ 50/50."

"I'd take that wager..." said a casual _red_ fox, strolling up to the pair of mammalian females, "though it depends, what are we talking about, carrots?"

"You."

"Ah. Right. Then all bets are off because I'm fantastic," he said.

The newcomer took a moment to admire Judy's new outfit. At the same time, Judy could see Lilith looking him up and down with an off-putting gleam in her eye.

"Lilith, this is my partner, Nicholas Wilde," said Judy in an introductory manner.

Lilith greeted the red fox in turn, holding out a paw: "Hello, Nicholas. My name is Lilith. Lilith Watterson."

Officer Wilde accepted the pawshake, "Charmed. And please, call me Nick."

Nick put on a scowl whilst retrieving a pair of dorkish square-framed glasses. "They're making me wear these... _Things_ for the duration of this little op. I just don't think they're my style.

Judy knew just what to say. Lilith beat her to it, "Sure they're not aviators... But I'm sure they'll look just dapper on you."

Nick donned the spectacles and it was at that moment that Judy spotted he was wearing a corduroy jacket over a striped polo with black jeans.

"All in all, it's very different to your typical ensemble," She said.

"Yeah. You see, the glasses have a camera and all that," Said the red fox, tentatively tapping the glasses' frame.

Judy turned to Lilith, who had a funny sort of vexed expression on her face, "Well, we'd better get moving. Thank you Lilith."

Lilith just nodded. She waved with a friendly smile as they walked away.

"I caught you looking," said Judy.

"Well it's rude not to look at someone when they're speaking to you," replied Nick.

"Well, she was certainly looking at you..."

Nick stopped for moment, "Really? I mean... Are you jealous, Carrots?"

Judy rolled her eyes and said rather playfully, "Yes, because I'm totally hung up over-"

"A vermillion bombshell?" Nick interrupted.

"-An orange wise-ass," Finished Judy.

The two spotted Benjamin Clawhauser inside one the ZPD's stakeout vans. Just outside it's open doors stood Bogo, speaking with the overweight cheetah. Nick flicked his ears in their direction, Judy nodded and they both jogged over.

"Radio status?" Bogo asked Clawhauser.

"Green!" Said the cheetah with a confident smile.

"And you've been over the maps, double checked the routes, street layouts, et cetera?"

"Of course!" said Clawhauser, showing the chief his clipboard, riddled with check marks.

Bogo huffed and turned away with a sort of 'trapped wind' expression on his face. He spotted our heroes approaching but said nothing. He stood a little straighter when he saw a wolf approaching, it was the Major.

"What's wrong, boges?" he said in an odd sounding accent.

"Ah, Major Pearce. How are your mammals?"

"Well, a lot of em' have never been to this city before. Nevertheless, urban is their forte," he said with an air authority before adding rather sternly: "and hey, don't deflect, I asked you a question."

Bogo sighed, "Just a bad feeling I can't shake..."

Pearce gave him a hard slap on the shoulder, "Years ago, I had a stop-over in this city and was grabbing a bite to eat. Then this young-ish looking Cape Buffalo rocks up, tries to arrest me for quote-unquote 'eating suspicously'."

The chief said nothing.

"That's the Bogie I thought'd be here, the take-charge, tough officer I came to know and... Be fearful of in a respectful way."

' _...Bogie?_ ' thought Judy. She turned to Nick, his expression was a reflection of her own vexation at the evident rapport between the two before her. The Major just shook his head as Bogo was still silent.

"Well, anyway. The birdwatchers have eyes on the nest. Got some positive IDs, suspects entering the building marked as the hotspot," explained the Major.

Bogo was noncommittal, simply saying, "Good good."

"The rest of my lot are split into two teams just as planned. We'll pile into our trucks and stay on station until your lot do the recon," Maj. Pearce pointed at Judy, "once the fly on the wall gives the signal, we'll kick it in, section it off and lay them out – with tranqs, of course."

Bogo nodded. Pearce stepped towards Judy and kneeled in front of her.

"When they told me I was going to be taking orders from a civillian I was... Suitably unimpressed. I've read your file. You'll do great," he said, smacking her shoulder, "right. I'm off to hold up my end, I'll see you in the soup."

Judy said, "Ow," rubbing her shoulder.

"He respects you," said Bogo.

"Kinda got a funny way of showing it, huh?"

The chief sighed, "Major Pearce has a checkered history and to be honest, he's a little broken."

Bogo took a long pause to watch the Major. The motley crew of mammals under his command saluted him and started boarding the trucks they had arrived in.

"He's dealt with a lot of death. He hasn't killed many himself, he's just had countless comrades die around him. Don't ask him about it," he said with a tone of finality.

"Right..." said Judy.

Chief Bogo, Nick and Judy all huddled around the map in Clawhauser's van to recap their plans.

* * *

 **End Notes**

It's nice to have a bit more Pearce. I was definitely going for a sort of HEV vibe with the computer voice.

[In accordance with feedback, I've been fixing my dialogue punctuation. Oh what a mess I've found myself in, it's like mowing an entire lawn without realizing there's not a bag on the mower.]


	4. Chapter III: Unfurseen Consequences

_Hey folks, I'd like to apologize for not getting this up sooner. I had to rewrite because my PC died ):_

[In accordance with feedback, I've been fixing my dialogue punctuation. Oh what a mess I've found myself in, it's like mowing an entire lawn without realizing there's not a bag on the mower.]

* * *

The lithe Judy Hopps darted through the silent streets, her jet black garb blending seamlessly into the shadows. Judy's radio earpiece crackled.

"Birdwatchers to ZPD units. We have visual on Deliverer One, over," said a voice over the radio.

Making her way another half a block, Judy began to climb a drainpipe on the side of the building. With a heave, the rabbit stood up on the building's roof.

Judy said into her radio, "I've reached the target building, over."

"Copy that, Deliverer One," was the response.

The target building was once upon a time a busy rec centre. The facility ran out of funding and was subsequently abandoned. Since then it had gradually become the den of crime it is today.

Tonight's mission was all about intel gathering. According to informants, something big was happening, someone going about hiring the city's scum.

"This is Deliverer Actual. All units sound off," Said Chief Bogo over the radio.

"Birdwatchers checking in," said a faceless voice.

"Deliverer One on standby," said Judy.

"Janitor Bravo leader checking in."

"Janitor Alpha leader here, staying on station," said Major Pearce.

"Red Five checking in," said someone.

"Damn it, Wilde!" roared Bogo, frightening poor Clawhauser, who sat beside him.

Nick sighed, "Deliverer Two checking in," said Nick over the radio, sounding a tad deflated.

Judy asked, "Deliverer One to Deliverer Two. What's your location?"

"I'm just about at the target building… Just picking a window to climb in," Nick explained.

Nick Wilde was at the South end of the complex, Judy was on the roof at the North end. Once inside, the fox would make his way to a spacious atrium in the East wing, observed from the vents by the fly on the wall, Deliverer One - Judy.

"I'm entering the target building now… Here goes nothing," said Nick as he flopped into an open window.

"Good. Deliverer One to Birdwatchers. If so much as a mouse car enters the area, I want to know," said judy with a commanding tone.

"Solid Copy, Talking Carrot," said the 'Birdwatchers'.

Unable to stifle her irritation, Judy said, "Wha… What did you just call me?"

"That's your callsign isn't it?" said the 'Birdwatchers', sounding confused.

"No. My callsign is Deliverer One, not whatever you just said," explained Judy.

"Our apologies, ma'am. We were given a note from Deliverer Two that explicitly stated you wished to be referred to as 'Talking Carrot'."

Despite the importance of tonight's little 'mission', Nick Wilde could not keep himself from being a prat - it was just too much fun.

In fact, it was so much fun, he had to mute his earpiece so stop himself from laughing.

"Attention Deliver One. This Birdwatchers, we've spotted Deliverer Two entering the target building. Repeat, Pawpsicle is in the cup."

"Deliverer Actual to Deliverer One, Deliverer Two's eyes are on. We can see and hear everything he can," said Clawhauser.

"Roger," said Judy.

Judy quickly and quietly stepped over to a vent on the roof. Brandishing an electric screwdriver, she worked away until all four screws that held the cover on tinked at her feet. She wasted no time entering the crawlspace.

Flopping over a window sill, Nick stood up and found himself face-to-face with a dishevelled ram that looked suitably unimpressed about being disturbed.

"Oi! What are you looking at!" grumbled the ram.

"I'm looking at you!" said Nick.

The ram was visibly unsure how to respond, opting to gently swirl the contents the paper cup he held, sipping at it a few times.

The creature said, "Oh, okay. Sorry to have wasted your time…" after a long pause.

"No problem, friendo," said Nick, waving as he went through a nearby door.

Through that very door was a tall, surprisingly well-lit hallway, filled with various tiers and varieties of scum. After two years of the straight and narrow, Nick found this once-familiar atmosphere to be cold and unwelcoming.

"Deliverer Actual to all units. Deliverer Two is making his way to the Atrium," said Bogo, then asking, "Birdwatchers, any activity?"

"Negative, negative. No noise, Deliverer Actual."

Major Pearce checked his weapon for the tenth time. It was always in perfect condition. His teammates were in a banterous circle at one end of the truck.

"So, there's a lynx sittin' at a bar. Then a bunny, a jackal and a panda walk in. So the lynx says, 'oh you have _cat_ to be _kitten_ me right _meow_. Is this some kinda joke?'" says one.

Silence.

"That is about the shittiest joke I have ever heard," said another.

Pearce's ears flicked. And flicked again. He had that feeling, the kind one gets when a mosquito is buzzing around one ear.

' _My gut tells me something is wrong. My gut is always right,_ ' thought the Major.

"You think that was bad? You know what they say: jokes about Prussanian sausages… Are the _wurst,_ '" said the earlier jokester.

"Shut up!" yelled Pearce suddenly.

"You've done it now, you pissed off the Major."

"I said be quiet!" growled Pearce.

Silence.

"...roaching the compound, over," said a voice over the radio.

"Alpha Leader to Birdwatchers, please repeat," said Pearce.

"Copy that. Multiple vehicles approaching the target building. Repeat, multiple vehicles on approach," they said.

Pearce muttered,"Shit."

In the aforementioned target building, Nick had just entered the East atrium. Up in the vents, Judy watched from above.

"Deliverer One, be advised, multiple unidentified animals are entering the target building, Northeast," explained the 'birdwatchers'.

"Ten-four," Judy said, before saying to Nick, "you're about to have company."

There was no indication Nick had heard her.

From her vantage point, Judy spotted a particular mammal heading straight for Nick - someone who could identify him easily, disguise or no disguise.

"Nick! Look out behind you!" cried Judy into her mouthpiece, as loud yet also as quiet as she possibly could.

"It's no use, Hopps. I-I think he's muted his ear-piece," said Clawhauser shakily.

The attention of the whole space was drawn to the Northern doors of the atrium as two tranq wielding rams entered, followed by the looming figure of a large ungulate. A squat, brown bear came forward and put down a chair behind the newcomer - just in time for him to sit upon it.

"Oh, don't mind me…" he said dismissively, in a distinctive deep voice.

It was a voice that anyone and everyone would find familiar yet couldn't match a face or name to.

' _That must be him… The one Carrots was talking about…_ ' thought Nick, cautiously edging closer for a better look.

Nick got the fright of his life when his hidden-camera glasses were taken off his head from behind. He whipped around and was taken aback by the culprit.

"Hiya there, Nick. Or should I say… Officer Wilde?" sneered a literally weaselly voice.

Nick's eyes darted this way and that. Luckily, all the other animals in the room were still focused on the large creature that had entered earlier.

"Weaselton... You should be in jail!" cried Nick, incredulously.

"That's Duke Weaselton to you!" sneered Weaselton angrily.

The weasel dropped the glasses and crushed them, they fizzled as he stomped down. Next, he forcefully turned Nick around and began pushing him through the sparse crowd in the direction of the newcomer.

Nick remained submissive, fighting back now would _not_ end well.

"This is Deliverer Actual, we've lost our eyes. What on Earth is going on?" cried Bogo.

"It's Weaselton, sir. Spotted Nick immediately," explained Judy.

Bogo bellowed, "Damn!" Judy could hear the sound of him thumping a surface through the radio.

Judy had to fight hard to keep the panic from growing any stronger. The voices of Chief Bogo, Clawhauser and others rang in her ear as they tried to dissect the situation from their perspective.

"Janitor Leader to Deliverer One. Tell us what's happening, tell us what to do," said Pearce, his calm voice winning over the din that filled the radio space.

"Deliverer Two is compromised. We need to abort. I need your teams to come in and sweep up, just as planned. How quickly can you get here?" said Judy, taking full advantage of the sudden clarity of her mind.

"Give us sixty seconds," said the Major.

"Ten-four," she said.

The soldiers' trucks roared into life and sped hastily to the old rec complex, cutting corners and ducking in and out of alleys.

"This is Janitor Bravo leader, Deliverer One be advised, add another thirty seconds. It'll take that long to get to the atrium once we breach."

' _I don't have that kind of time._ ' thought Judy, watching Weaselton pushed Nick ever closer to the large creature that sat in darkness at the North end.

Soon enough, the two would be directly underneath the vent grating that Judy peered through. She wasted no time bringing out the screwdriver and loosening the vent cover. Judy glanced at her belt.

' _Good._ ' she thought, feeling decidedly glad she brought along a single shot tranq pistol.

Nick asked, "So, what now?" desperately hoping some sort of rescue was near.

"Well, that big guy over there? He's one who busted me out. But there's a lot of quid pro quo. I just felt I should introduce ya is all," explained Duke, seeming quite proud of himself.

"Hopps, what is going on?" asked Bogo.

"Nick is reuniting with old friends, the soldiers are doing their jobs and I'm about to buy some time," said Judy.

"Ten-four," said Bogo curtly.

' _Once more unto the breach,_ ' thought the rabbit just as the weasel and the fox were perfectly positioned.

Judy brought one heel down hard, sending the vent cover to the floor with a loud, attention drawing clatter. Equipping her tranquilizer gun, she deftly dropped down, landing a heartbeat later.

Looking forward, Judy could see at least a dozen or so mammals still caught amidst their reactions to her sudden appearance. Nick was among them. Weaselton was not.

Seeing the armed rams begin to ready their weapons caused Judy to act on impulse and discharge her weapon - striking one in the shoulder and filling his bloodstream with fentanyl.

The other ram didn't fire, he instead grabbed the mysterious visitor by the arm and lead him back from whence he came.

Before she could say anything to Nick, Weaselton leapt from the shadows, tackling the fox to the ground and winding him. Judy stepped forward and took aim.

She boldly said, "Gig's up, Duke."

Judy pulled the trigger, it rolled back and forth limply in the trigger guard, ' _Oh… Right. Single shot,_ ' she thought.

"What's wrong, Flopsie? Forget to reload?" sneered Weaselton, standing up and seeming to forget about Nick entirely.

The weasel stepped toward Judy with a confident swagger, she simply smacked him upside the head with the unloaded pistol, laying him out.

Judy rushed over to Nick and pulled him up by the arm.

"Nice of you to drop in," he said, still catching his breath.

"Somebody had to save your sorry ass," she said.

"Well we can talk about how grateful my sorry ass is once we're out of here!" said Nick, pointing out the mass of armed animals that had emerged from the North end of the atrium during the confrontation with the weasel.

"Right," said Judy.

The two ducked behind a pillar. Before their assailants could chase them down, soldiers of the Continental Defense Force filed in from the East and South entrances.

"This way," said Nick, taking a low stance and leading Judy toward the South door, all the while, a tranquilizer firefight raged around them.

"Next time, you can be the undercover guy," said Nick saltily.

" _If_ there's a next time, sure. I'd like to see you try fit in a ventilation system," retorted Judy.

"Oh ho, there is no try, sweetheart. Only do or do not. After this, let's find a vent system. Fifty bucks says I can not only get in the vents but also get out - without going backwards."

Judy didn't respond.

"What, fifty isn't enough?" asked Nick, stopping to look back at the rabbit.

"N-nick…" she said, softy.

A huge dart hung from the small creature's shoulder. Nick lunged forward and pulled it out, discarding it after a short glance. When Judy had begun to go limp, Nick had to stop her from falling.

"Come on, Carrots, stay with me!" Nick said, giving her a shake. Her eyes rolled into head.

"Hopps! Judy!" cried Nick.

The fox's knees gave way and he kneeled, in the open, holding Judy in his arms, her head hanging over his elbow.

* * *

 **End Notes**

This is the third time I've written this chapter. I actually feel like this has been my best version yet.

This chapter's name is both a play on words and a reference to HλLF-LIFE(1998)

The Continental Defense Force (CDF for short) is the military of the country that Zootopia is part of, a country I have named Continentia. The CRC or Central Regions of Continentia is this AU's version of our real-world USA often referred to simply as 'Continentia' in the same way the US are referred to as 'America', North Continentia is an analogue for Canada. Prussania is my analogue for Germany.


	5. Chapter IV: A Load to Bear

A fox and a rabbit were sat out in the open, not ten meters from relative safety. The presence of an old baddie had disastrous consequences.

Major Pearce tossed his weapon to one side and dashed into the center of the atrium, getting a hold of officers Hopps and Wilde, pulling them to the sideline. Nick was unprepared for the sudden jerk at his collar, looking around in bewilderment as he found himself behind an upturned table.

Pearce said, "Okay, how is-" he stopped when they were approached by a particularly aggressive ram, "hold that thought," he added.

The timberwolf stood and relieved the assailant of his weapon, bashing him in the face with it.

"Okay," said Pearce, crouching beside Nick, "how is she?"

"Not good," said Nick.

The major rolled his eyes, having to remind himself that few were capable of taking on difficult situations as coldly as he did.

Pearce spoke into his radio, "Deliverer Actual, we are bugging out, officer down."

Hearing Bogo's acknowledgement, Pearce turned to Nick, saying, "Right, pick her up, let's get out of here."

"Pick her up?" asked Nick.

"Yes. You are going to have to carry her. Unless of course you want to take this rifle and cover me," explained Pearce.

"Okay," said Nick shakily.

The Major peeked over the side of the table, chaos still ensued. Meanwhile, Nick stood, at first a little unstable though he managed to steady himself.

"Alright," said Nick, "let's get out of here."

Pearce glanced at the fox, cradling the little rabbit in his arms like an infant.

"What are you doing?" asked Pearce, unable to ignore the way Nick held Judy.

"You said carry her!" cried Nick.

"Did nobody teach you how to lift somebody? You're supposed to-" Pearce looked out over the table again, adding, "oh, for crying out loud, there's no time. On me, Mr Fox!"

Nick had a hard time keeping up with Pearce as the fit timberwolf zipped from cover to cover, occasionally firing into the fray. Pearce dashed through the door at the South end of the atrium and slammed it shut after the heavily laden Nick hobbled through. The Major's neutral expression turned to one of horror as something massive approached Nick.

"Duck! Fox! Duck!" cried Pearce at the top his lungs.

"Wh-what?" said Nick.

"Hit the deck!"

Nick crouched a split second before an immense gray pillar swung over him. Standing up, he was at the foot of an elephant wearing similar clothing to the mysterious newcomer's accomplices. Pearce rushed forward and yanked Nick back by his collar.

"I'll handle this," he said.

Pearce took an aiming stance and unloaded his weapon's entire clip on the elephant. It wasn't very effective. The pachyderm closed the gap between them in one lumbering step. With a casual swipe, the elephant knocked Pearce's weapon from his paws, sending it clattering into a wall. The brave wolf counterattacked with a quick plow to the stomach.

"Son of a-" yelped Pearce when a skin-crawling crunch was heard as his paw met with a concealed steel plate.

As he clutched his shattered paw, the elephant gave a low chuckle and struck Pearce in the chest, sending flying into the wall with a muted grunt. He was just conscious enough to roll out of the way of the elephant's pillar arms that came down repeatedly, one after the other.

"Fox… Go on ahead!" he cried out to Nick, who watched in horror.

Nick got to his feet without hesitation, and, after securing Judy in his arms, moved as fast as his legs would take him. Everything around him became a blur. An imperceptible amount of time passed and Nick emerged from the building, feeling raindrops land on his fur. Blinding lights shone into his eyes and sirens rung around him.

A voice called out over the din: "Officer Wilde!"

Feeling paws on his shoulders, Nick allowed himself be led.

"Stretcher, stat!" said the voice.

Nick felt the weight lift from his shaky arms. Immediately, this roused him from his thousand yard stare. He saw the earlier voice belonged to an EMT.

"Will she be alright?" asked Nick, watching Judy's stretcher being loaded into an ambulance.

"We won't know until she's in the hospital. Any idea what took her down?"

"I…" Nick had to think, "I have no idea."

The EMT cursed under her breath then said, "and you, officer?"

"I'm fine," said Nick with a sigh, "frazzled but fine."

The EMT was tapping away at a tablet before looking up to see another figure emerge from the building.

"Oh my God," she said.

Nick turned to look - it was Major Pearce. The wolf limped and held one paw in the other, close to his chest. On the way over, he coughed and clutched his chest painfully. Reaching into his back pocket with the paw that wasn't mangled, he pulled out a used tranq dart and handed it to the EMT.

She asked, "Was this what they're using?"

Pearce just nodded, letting himself into a nearby ambulance.

"Right. Officer Wilde, into the ambulance with the Major."

Nick wordlessly obeyed. The ambulance started with a grumble and headed to the hospital. Nick couldn't keep himself from staring at the badly beaten wolf.

"Thanks." said Nick.

"What for?" Mumbled Pearce.

"Saving Judy's life - and mine of course," explained Nick.

"It's what I get paid for," said Pearce before adding, with a tinge of emotion, "you're welcome."

"Is… All that, painful?" asked Nick.

"Yes, excruciatingly so."

A nurse checked Nick over once he'd reached the hospital. Having only sustained a few scratches and some bruising, Nick was allowed to roam freely. He found a seat in the waiting room and attempted to get comfortable.

A thoroughly bandaged Major Liam Pearce found the sleeping fox whilst wandering down the corridor. He sat beside Nick and prodded him awake.

"Wakey wakey," said Pearce.

"Huh-wha-" said Nick, sitting himself up, he asked, "what happened? How long was I out?"

With a thoughtful expression Pearce said, "Hmph. I dunno…"

Nick gasped and stood up, only to crumple on the floor a heartbeat later. While he was picking himself he grunted, "I gotta find Judy."

Pearce leant forward and put a paw on Nick's shoulder, turning the fox to face him.

"Easy, easy. I've already taken the liberty of asking after the rabbit," Pearce explained.

Nick cried, "And?"

"They said they'd keep me posted."

Nick's shoulders sagged and he dejectedly sat back down.

Before long, a voice called out down the corridor: "Major?"

Pearce and Nick looked up to see a wolf dressed as a doctor approach them, clipboard in paw. Nick stood immediately to address him.

"How is she?" asked Nick.

"Ye don't beat around the bush, do ye?" Said the doctor with a wee scotch voice.

"Will she be okay?"

"Come with me. I'll explain on the way."

Nick cast a glance back at Pearce, who gave a 'go on, then' gesture, so Nick stepped forward to follow the doctor, who lead the way back up the corridor.

The doctor began a lengthy explanation: "I'm Doctor Fergus Carrson. The board made a point of assigning Officer Hopps's case to me personally. Officer Hopps is in a coma of sorts. Of course, the word 'coma' is used for all sorts of things. Basically, she's in a very deep sleep. She's doing better than we could've hoped."

"When will she wake up?" asked Nick.

"We have no idea."

"What?" Nick exclaimed. He stopped walking, adding, "you have no idea? And that's better than you could hope?"

"Officer Wilde, please understand, she took a dangerously high dose of one hell of a tranquilizer cocktail. We don't even know half the ingredients. She should be dead, and yet… She still has a heartbeat."

Nick resumed following Dr Carrson. After a stairwell and a ward or two, the pair reached a private room with a little label that read 'Hopps'.

"To be frank, Officer Wilde, to be doing this well, she's one tough lass," said Carrson.

"You have no idea," Nick said, quietly. Nick added, "what now?"

"All we can do, is wait," said Fergus, then asking, "what will you do?"

Nick pulled out his wallet and looked at the shiny badge enclosed, saying, "Keep an oath."

* * *

 **End Notes**

I think I've sorted my punctuation. As always, give me a buzz if anything's still screwy.

On another note, I feel like my chapters are a little short.

If you've read my shorts, you'll recognize Fergus.


	6. Chapter V: Catalytic Encounters

Judy Hopps sat at the base of an immense oak tree atop a hill, surrounded by lush countryside. Blustery winds buffeted her fur and stirred the leaves of the trees. Dark and stormy clouds rolled in from all around and rain began to fall at first only slight, but it gradually became torrential.

The little rabbit watched in silence. Her eyes closed and she was once again consumed by inky blackness.

A strange sound roused Judy from her unconscious state. Her eyes took in a blurry room that ever so slowly grew to clarity. Lifting her paws to rub her drowsy eyes took a lot of effort.

' _Why are my arms… So heavy?_ ' thought Judy. Even her head felt twice it's normal weight.

Looking around the room again, Judy figured she _must_ have been in a hospital, the giveaway clues were the hospital bed she lay in, various medical equipment on either side and the vaguely mint colored hospital gown she woke up wearing - not to mention all the tubes.

Hearing the earlier noise again drew her attention to a lumpy red thing in a crumpled heap on a chair wearing a flowery button-up shirt and a loosely fastened necktie.

Judy could only manage a croak when she tried calling out to the thing. Looking about, she found a ballpoint pen on the table beside her. All full of tubes, it took an effort and a half for her to reach over and grab it with her weighty arms. The keen rabbit took aim, holding the pen like a throwing knife and giving it a solid toss.

"Yes!" exclaimed Judy under her breath as she watched the object sail through the air in a pretty arc and hit the unconscious creature in the eye.

Nick Wilde groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing one eye painfully. Looking around with his other eye he caught sight of Judy sitting up in bed and immediately leapt up and sprinted over. Reaching the the bed, he clambered up the side and knelt beside Judy, wrapping his arms around her in a tight, warm hug.

Judy said hoarsely, "geez, it's like you haven't seen me in a week," while hugging Nick back.

Nick slowly pulled away.

"Well, that's because I-" Nick's eyes darted to the door then back to Judy, "hold that thought. I'll be _right_ back."

Judy barely had time to react before Nick left the room, leaving her alone with her utter bafflement.

' _There is something totally weird happening here,_ ' thought Judy, thinking over everything that had happened in the past sixty or so seconds.

Judy couldn't remember what put her in hospital in the first place. She clutched at mental straws to piece it all together. Bit by bit, memories fell into place.

There was a twinge of discomfort and angst as she recalled the vixen that had briefed her on her new gear, a pulse of frustration on remembering the discovery of Nick's exploits and lastly, as the picture got clearer, a sudden and very vivid recollection of her last moments of consciousness filled her mind.

Reliving a moment of the past, Judy remembered hearing Nick's voice, then feeling a sharp pain in her shoulder. Everything faded to black after that.

The sound of a familiar voice - make that two familiar voices getting closer pulled her from her reverie.

"Alright, alright alright! I said I'm on my way!" said a scotchy voice, that, even through a gruff tone was still as cute as ever.

A timber wolf in scrubs followed by Nick pushed their way into the room. Judy recognized the wolf as Doctor Fergus Carrson, whom she'd met once before, over a year ago.

"You're awake!" exclaimed the wolf.

"And that is literally what I said in the hall," said Nick.

Judy chuckled awkwardly, saying, "Yeah, I'm awake. That's what happens when you pass out, you, wake up again."

Her statement was met with silence.

"Actually, I was wondering, what's with all the tubes? It's a bit much, you know, a bit overboard for an overnight stay. Am I right?" said Judy, her voice tinged with the beginnings of worry.

Nick and Carrson exchanged glances, then the latter began to explain, "Ms Judith, er… Officer Hopps, you've been in an unresponsive coma for thirteen days."

"Fourteen," said Nick.

"Hmm?"

"Today makes fourteen," explained Nick.

"There ye go, two weeks." Said Carrson.

Judy looked thoughtful for some time, pondering how this could have happened. Moving her paw to her chin reminded her how heavy her limbs felt.

"Ah… That explains why it's tough to move!" said Judy out loud.

"Erhm… Wha- yes! Typical muscle atrophy. It will take at least a month for you to get back into shape. You lost a _lot_ of weight - for a bunny," explained Carrson.

A sudden beep interrupted the protracted silence that followed. Carrson pulled out a pager and squinted at it's tiny screen.

"Right… Well… I'll get a nurse to de-tube you then I have some medical errands to run involving an odd gentlemammal with a discomforting fondness for bananas."

"...Bananas?" asked Nick.

""Erh… Don't think about it too much. Come along, Officer Wilde. Let's give your colleague some privacy," said Carrson, leading Nick out of the room.

Nick leant against the corridor wall and pulled out a police radio. Although he was off duty, Nick thought it practical to carry it around. He felt it was worth it to tell Chief Bogo that everyone's favorite officer had regained consciousness.

"Officer Wilde to dispatch," he said, holding the device up to his muzzle.

An eerie silence emanated from the radio when Nick released the push-to-talk key. Nick waited. And he waited.

Still nothing.

Nick thumbed the frequency dial into the 'ALL CHANNELS' position and prepared to hail again.

"This is Officer Wilde. Anyone there? I can't raise dispatch," said Nick, into the mouthpiece.

After a pause a faint and patchy voice broke through the silence:

"Officer Wilde? This is Fangmeyer, I can't raise dispatch either. There's something fu-" for a brief moment, the voice was overtaken by silence, "...ing on."

"You're kinda breaking up, what's happening?" asked Nick.

"I don't know," explained Fangmeyer, "I was just talking to Clawhauser a couple minutes ago when I was coming over the Meadowlands bridge. I don't know what happened but he just went silent mid-sentence as if the…"

Fangmeyer's voice failed to re emerge from the eerie silence this time.

"As if the line went dead?" said Nick, to himself, "I know how you feel."

Before Nick could think about it anymore, a nurse emerged from Judy's room. He slipped in as the door swung closed.

"Hi there," said Judy, spotting the fox.

Judy swung her long legs over the side of the hospital bed and made ready to hop down to the floor. Nick hurried over and made ready to catch her if she fell.

"Hey, hey! Slow down. Are you sure you're okay to get up?" asked, Nick, getting thoroughly worked up.

"Geez, Nick, relax. I'm fine," said Judy, shooting Nick an impatient look.

Nick pulled back without saying a word, still staying _just_ close enough if something went awry.

Judy walked carefully over to the window, climbing up on a chair to see out. With a heave and some effort, she pulled herself to a standing position. She parted the curtain and leant on the windowsill. Nick wandered over and stood beside her, she welcomed the paw he put on her shoulder.

After giving Nick a brief glance she asked, "I suppose it's been pretty hectic, huh? Two weeks without me around?"

Nick shook his head, "No, it's actually been pretty quiet, almost too quiet."

"Hmph."

An orange flash in the distance caught Judy's eyes. A moment later, the booming sound of an explosion echoed across the streets.

"Wh-", Nick tried to speak but he simply couldn't, mesmerized by the flashes, booms and subsequent pillars of smoke that appeared all across town.

Just like that last unpopped kernel of microwave popcorn, one last explosion fired off in the street directly by the hospital, rattling the windows with it's shock wave.

"Oh, God," Judy whispered.

Without hesitation or inhibition, Judy reached into Nick's pocket and took his police radio - she knew he liked to have one on him for practicality's sake.

With a slight croak she said into the mouthpiece, "Dispatch! Please respond," and let go of the push-to-talk to listen.

Silence.

"It's no use, I tried to reach them earlier but- but there was something wrong, Fangmeyer was telling me he lost contact mid-sentence, same thing happened to us," said Nick worriedly, perhaps even fretful.

Noise from the corridor halted their conversation. Gruff voices and a whole lot of thudding edged closer to the closed door in front of Nick.

Judy looked at Nick, her expression wordlessly saying, "what do we do?"

Before either could properly react, shouts of protest from Dr Carrson could be heard.

"Oi! Let go of me!" he yelped.

"Here he is sir, the Doctor assigned to Hopps."

"Where is she!" bellowed the distinctly authoritative voice of a rhino.

"Well, ye see, I'm not really able to say, doctor-patient confidentiality and all…" explained Carrson, his voice trailing off as he saw the rhino before him getting angrier by the second.

One of the thug's underlings called out, right beside the door to Judy's room, saying "Over here! It's here!"

Carrson sprinted over and stood between the rhino and Judy's door.

The rhino stomped over and grumbled, getting ready to pummel the skinny timber wolf.

"W-wait, hear me out," said Carrson nervously, "y-ye don't want to go in there."

Amidst the conversation, Nick had moved closer to Judy.

"I think he's trying to buy us time," said Nick, quietly.

Judy nodded.

After a brief look around the room, the fox's ears perked up when he saw a way out. He crouched and said to Judy, "Window. Come on."

Back in the corridor, Fergus Carrson's would-be captors silently demanded an explanation.

"Urinary catheter," he said.

The thugs were visibly confused.

"Ever seen someone having a catheter cleaned out? Not pretty. Not for the faint of heart," explained Carrson.

With a little help from Nick, Judy lowered herself onto a ledge that hung a few feet below the window they'd just climbed out of.

Something whizzed by at high speed and impacted into the side of the building, shaking Judy's already unsteady pawhold.

A voice cried out from below, "Up there! Target in sight!"

Another voice scolded the first, "No! You idiot, don't shoot! If she falls she's dead! The Boss wants her _alive_. As in still breathing you twat!"

With her back to the wall, Judy clung to the building for dear life. She looked over at Nick and their eyes met.

"So," started Nick, "come here often?"

If she weren't trying so hard not to fall, she would've smacked Nick over the head. Fortunately for him though, there were more pressing matters to deal with.

"How did you get here?" Judy asked Nick.

Nick glanced down and winced awkwardly.

"Well?"

"In that smoldering pile of twisted metal about fifty feet below us," explained Nick.

"Of course…" thought Judy, rolling her eyes.

As her eyes returned to their normal orientation, Judy spotted an open window a short crawl away.

"Nick! That way!" yelled Judy.

Nick looked at where she pointed then back to her, giving a curt nod before starting towards the objective. Judy followed, though not quite as speedy as the fox.

"You know," said Nick, "you'd probably move a little quicker if you faced the wall…"

Judy scoffed. She said derisively, "In an open-back hospital gown? Not happening."

Nick climbed in the window with a grunt and anxiously waited to lend Judy a paw. The wait was agony. At long last she got close enough for him to pull her up.

Voices from below once again rang out, "Somebody get online to the guys inside!"

After a pause the another called out, "No good, sir. Jammers are still up!"

Nick moved away from the window, guiding Judy along with one paw.

"I think they're having as much trouble using radio as us." said Nick.

"That's convenient," said Judy, "be even more convenient if I had my clothes…"

"You mean these?" asked Nick, producing a patient belongings bag labeled 'Hopps, Judy L.'

"Where did you…? How did you…? Who cares, gimme that!"

Nick turned away and gave a bow after the bunny snatched the bag from his paw.

"You're welcome," he said mockingly.

Nick continued, "Heh, kinda reminds me of a couple years back. When I snagged Doug's case from the train before it crashed. Remember that, Carrots?"

Nick turned to face Judy with possibly the worst timing in the history of anything, ever, ultimately seeing a lot more of his work partner than he had bargained for. Judy simultaneously looked up and yelped, tossing her discarded hospital gown at his face.

"Shit! I am _so_ sorry," said Nick, feeling the most bashful he'd ever felt in his entire life.

He stood for some time, completely still, refusing to remove the uncomfortably warm gown that covered his face.

"Alright, you can uncover your eyes now," said Judy, "Come on. Let's get out of here, dipstick."

The pair quietly peeked around the door to the hallway.

"Stairwell and visitor's elevators are down there," said Nick, pointing down the corridor, just past where ruffians were still harassing Dr Carrson.

"Service lift?" Asked Judy.

"To the left."

The sound of a janitor's trundler caught Judy's ear. She looked at Nick, he looked back, they nodded to each other and scurried toward the sweet sound of possible escape.

Feeling a shift in weight, the elephant pushing the trundler stopped to inspect her load. She had to stifle a gasp upon seeing the identity of the stowaways.

Judy silently indicated the brutish thugs down the hall.

The janitor nodded and resumed pushing the cart.

One of the armed mammals gave the elephant a sideways glance as she passed by. She just ignored him and kept pushing the trundler.

Judy, Nick and their elephant acquaintance gave a sigh of relief when the doors of the service lift closed.

"Thank you, ma'am." said Judy.

"Not a problem. My cousin Francine is on the force, you know," said the elephant.

"How far can you take us?" asked Nick.

"The door to the ambulance bay. I'd take you further but I think that'd be a little suspicious. I mean, have you ever seen a hospital janitor take their cleaning supplies for a walk?" explained the janitor.

The service lift creaked open and the janitor nonchalantly strolled forth from one end of the hospital to the other. As they passed by the front entrance, a mammal geared up like the other thugs dashed in and sprinted up the stairs. Judy and Nick exchanged a knowing look.

The hospital janitor stopped before a large set of white double doors and peered out the little windows out into a carpark area. Checking there was no one behind her, she opened the doors and pushed the cleaning cart through.

"Okay," she said, "coast is clear."

Judy crawled out from between bottes of solvent, followed by Nick.

"Thank you again, ma'am," Said Judy with a little salute.

"My pleasure. Good luck, you two!"

The janitor disappeared into the hospital as Judy and Nick crept towards the street. Reaching the sidewalk, they ducked behind the corner of the building and peeked toward the left - the street level thugs that had fired at them were still there.

"To the right. Let's go," said Judy, to which Nick nodded.

No sooner had they started sneaking away that another group of armed mammals emerged from a side street. Unsurprisingly, the fox and bunny were spotted immediately.

Their leader cried, "H-wha- S-seize them!"

The yell alerted the group to the left and Judy and Nick's escape routes were quickly cut off from both sides.

"Here we are again," said Nick, keeping up a calm front.

"It's always such a pleasure," said Judy, somewhat shakily as she had begun to feel light-headed.

All the while, the throaty rumble of a diesel engine drew closer every second.

The thugs strode forward casually as if they were bulletproof. Hence, they were completely unprepared for an all-black SUV to rocket around the corner, tyres screeching, from the right of the hospital. The vehicle roared at flank speed toward Judy and Nick, the second group of thugs leapt this way and that, scattered like bowling pins. The first got startled, taking cover on either side of the street.

The SUV spun around and skidded to a halt beside Judy and Nick. The passenger side window rolled down to reveal the driver - it was Chief Bogo.

"Get in!"

Nick rushed toward the car, grabbing Judy by the arm. Reaching the door, he pulled it open, after Judy clambered in, Nick followed and closed the door behind them.

"Chief! I've never been so happy to see you in my whole life," said Nick.

Bogo said nothing, just putting his hoof to the floor and speeding off the way he came.

The SUV's stereo system crackled then began to produce static, Bogo's radio had been on the entire time. The sound of a throat clearing followed by a profound voice emerged from the speakers:

 _"Greetings, Citizens of our fine city of Zootopia._

 _"Given the trying events of today, you no doubt wonder; 'who was behind this?' or perhaps, 'why did this happen?' 'was all this really necessary?'_

 _"Well, I will now tell you. Not just because of some, personal obligation, no. Rather, it is your right as the people to know, and thus understand the things happening around you and to you._

 _"My name is Ezra Bisonhower, I was an important member of both the pre-2016 Lionheart mayoral administration and the ill-fated Bellwether administration._

 _"That is the first question answered._

 _"For a great period of time, there has been a societal imbalance. Please note, dear friends, that I say societal as opposed to racial. You likely saw today that the freedom fighters enacting my plans are of all diets, shapes, and sizes. Admittedly I had a large role in the outworking of Dawn Bellwether's schemes though I disagreed with both her motive and execution._

 _"The ZPD, perhaps unwittingly, have created a subtle regime through which they oppress the fine denizens of this city. With my loose guidance, a band of freedom fighters have risen up and, in a dazzling show of teamwork and efficiency, have released the entire city from the aforementioned oppression._

 _"Hold on, one of my liuetenants has a message for me. What? You're kidding. You have got to be… Kill that broadcast immediately!"_

One could cut the tension in the ZPD HQ foyer with a butter knife. Armed thugs milled about the freshly 'liberated' structure, trying to ignore the conversation in the center of the room.

Ezra stood, fuming, silently daring his underling to repeat himself.

"Hopps is gone, sir."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" asked Ezra with a roar of disbelief.

The pig he was speaking to grew sheepish.

"You idiots had one fucking job! She was in a fucking coma! Are you all fucking braindead?!"

The pig said nothing.

"Well? What's Hornton's excuse this time?"

"Sh-she woke up…" the pig was quickly cut off by Ezra.

"So? You know what being completely still for two fucking weeks does to you? You can't fucking move!"

Ezra Bisonhower stormed off then stopped, making one last statement:

"Bellwether's plan went balls up because she failed to take into account Officer Hopps' tenacity. The result? She went down in history as the terrorist who was foiled by a pawful of blueberries in a red handkerchief. I am _not_ going to let that happen to me."

* * *

 **End Notes**

My apologies, compatriots. It took longer than anticipated to complete this chapter.

I personally don't like using tons of cuss words, it's very much a time and place thing for me. It really depends on a character's personality and the context/setting they are in. In other words, if everybody used cuss words a little sparingly, they would do what they're actually supposed to: _add emphasis_.


	7. Chapter VI: The Voyage Home

Twilight had shifted to night by the time Bogo's vehicle pulled into a disused warehouse on the outskirts of town.

Wordlessly, Chief Bogo exited his SUV. Nick and Judy did the same.

"Where are we?" asked Nick with a quizzical expression.

"Possibly the last safe place in the city," came the response.

The lights came on seemingly on their own, startling the new arrivals.

"Guys, it's ok. Come on out, it's the Chief," said the familiar voice of Officer Wolfard.

Officers Grizzoli and Delgato emerged from behind a tattered sofa, shortly after, Officer Pennington peeked around a stack of crates. She approached the others with a touch of caution.

Bogo turned to Wolfard, asking, "Is there anyone else?"

"N-not that we know of. Francine was already here with the others when I got here," he said.

"Expecting somebody?" asked Nick.

"Well… Sort of. Only a select few senior officers know of this bug-out location. Pennington, Krumpanski and Fangmeyer, to name a few," explained Bogo.

The room became eerily silent. Bogo looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Speaking of which," he began, "where is Fangmeyer? Grizzoli, Delgato, were you not on patrol together?"

"We erh… Y-yes sir, we were," said Delgato nervously.

The Chief's expression demanded an explanation.

"He left us on watch while he went the usual place to get coffee," explained Delgato. "He was on his way back when everything started going to hell."

The lion started to choke on his words and get restless where he stood. Grizzoli stepped forward and put a paw on his shoulder.

"He'd just crested a hill and was driving down to meet us. One of those bombs went off right next to him - he swerved and sped full tilt into a fire hydrant," explained Grizzoli.

Bogo said nothing, though everyone present could hear the faint sound of his thick nails grinding against each other as he clenched his fists.

"Went straight through the windshield, wouldn't have felt a thing."

Amidst the somber recap, Judy had wandered to the edge of the dim light, staring off thoughtfully into the shadows. Nick followed, seeking to find out what was on the little rabbit's mind.

"Penny for your thoughts, Carrots?"

"This has been a long time coming," she said, "of course, that isn't to say that we should've _seen_ it coming."

Judy turned to face the group.

"A move like this takes a lot of effort, but more than that - it takes time. A _lot_ of time.I think whoever did this definitely wanted every cop out of the picture… Including me. All this considered, some of it was handled in a very sloppy way, and…"

Judy's voice trailed off and the little bunny started to lose her balance. Nick quickly stopped her from falling with a firm but gentle paw on each shoulder.

"A-as I was saying," she started.

Nick interrupted, "Now, now. I think that's enough being you for one day. Come on now."

He lead her to the sofa and sat her up.

"That's better… In fact, I might just close my eyes for just a short while," said Judy, moments before sleepily leaning on the tattered piece of furniture, falling asleep near immediately.

"Is she alright?" asked Officer Pennington

"What do you think?" asked Nick derisively.

Pennington was unprepared for Nick's retort and she began to say sorry.

"I didn't ask for an apology," Nick interrupted, "don't waste your breath."

Awkward silence. Nick started to pace agitatedly about the space.

Bogo spoke up, breaking the silence, "I don't think anyone else is coming."

The others agreed, though it felt like there was more to be said.

"That's it then. We need to go somewhere safe, somewhere inconspicuous, to plan our next move," said Nick, brandishing his cellphone and scrolling through it quietly.

Bogo took a step closer, asking, "where?"

After a deliberate tap, Nick looked right at the Chief, saying, "Home." before holding the phone up to his ear.

Nick gently laid Judy in the back seat of Bogo's SUV, belted her in and sat beside her. The Chief clambered in and started the engine. They drove for a while, heading out of town.

Nick felt the vehicle slow to a stop. He sat up to look out the windshield.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Bogo said nothing, he just stared straight ahead. Roughly a hundred meters in front was a security checkpoint of sorts - armed thugs, almost undoubtedly part of Ezra Bisonhower's 'freedom fighters'.

"I see." said Nick.

Nick put his deep knowledge of the city to good use, directing the Chief to an unused industrial complex with a convenient gap in it's chain link fence. With a bit of off-roading, the Chief's SUV made it to the highway and smooth sailing followed.

Sunlight began to creep through the sky as the vehicle made it's way into the countryside south of the city.

"How much farther?" asked the chief

"It should be just over," Nick paused. "There! Over there!" he said, frantically pointing.

Lacking the night vision Nick had, Bogo had to squint considerably to make out a farm driveway between a sign and an old oak.

Chief Bogo grimaced as he turned into the drive, it was a tight fit for the broad vehicle. Nick's ears went flat at the scratchy sound of body panels scraping on fence posts.

After a rolling stop, Bogo cautiously stepped out of his vehicle. In the back seat, Nick prodded Judy to wakefulness.

"Wakey wakey, little bunny." Said Nick playfully.

Judy's response came in the form of slowly sitting up, rubbing her eyes and doing a cute yawn.

"Wha-"

Judy's eyes widened when she saw where they were and she said, "What are we doing here?"

"Since we've been spending so much time together, it's time I met your father."

"Oh shut up, dipstick," said Judy. "As if. Come on, what's the plan?"

"After you did your little fainting number I figured we needed somewhere neutral to work things out."

"Fair enough, I would've done the same." she said.

Nick and Judy clambered down the side of the car, one after the other. Halfway between the car and the house, the front door opened, revealing Bonnie Hopps.

The mother bunny quietly ushered them in. Unfortunately for Chief Bogo, the builders of the home did not have cape buffalos in mind when they designed it - he had to stay outside.

Though it was still rather early, there were a few members of the household already up fetching breakfast, Nick could hear them in an adjacent room as he, Judy and Bonnie made their way to a dining area.

"My Gosh!" cried Bonnie quietly, adding, "Judy, you're so thin!"

Nick hadn't noticed until now, but Bonnie was right. Judy's face was gaunt, her toned musculature withered, and her curves had diminished considerably.

"Come along now, let's get you fed! Get those thighs plumped back up!" said Bonnie.

Judy's mother snatched her by the arm and led her away before she had the chance to respond. Nick had just started to relax when somebunny coming up behind him gave him a bit of a fright.

"Oh my, sorry about that." said the perpetrator, who happened to be Judy's father, Stu.

"Hi. I'm Nick. You're Stu, right?" asked Nick, shaking paws with the fellow.

"Yup. It's nice to finally meet you."

When Stu was silent for a while, Nick asked tentatively, "And why's that?"

"Oh. Well, Jude talks about you a _lot_ whenever she visits. Not going to lie, I was getting pretty worried. But, now that I've met ya…"

Again, Stu went worryingly quiet.

"Yes?" asked Nick.

"I'm just glad there's somebody lookin' after Jude off in the big city, that's all." explained Stu.

" _Me too._ " thought Nick as Stu Hopps wandered away, presumably to get something to eat.

After breakfasting, Judy met up with Nick and Bogo in a hay barn, starting off their planning by drawing up a map of the city, particularly the area around ZPD HQ.

The chief explained that he was just leaving the HQ when the coup hit. Bisonhower's goons were armed to the teeth. Unprepared, outnumbered and outgunned, with no means of communication, the officers at HQ were helpless to defend themselves.

Making a number of phone calls, the Chief was able to round up several officers who had been hiding out since yesterday. Minutes turned to hours and by this point the sun had already begun it's descent.

"That just leaves two problems," said Bogo. "One being that we are still hopelessly outnumbered. The other being that we have no ordinance."

A brief silence.

"I don't suppose you have any ideas, Hopps?"

"Of course I do." she said. "Just have to call in a little favor."

Judy tapped at her cellphone before placing it on the table and sliding towards the Chief.

Without even looking, Bogo said, "Oh, you don't mean…"

"Oh I mean." said Judy.

Nick watched from the side in quiet amusement.

"Oh, sod it." said Bogo, swiping the phone from the table, taking a few steps away to make the call.

Nick lent forward to listen in. Dial tone. A voice with a notable Mediterranean flavor.

By and large, this gesture on Bogo's part really was something to be admired. After all, it came down to a choice: Chief Bogo's own pride or an assured victory against Ezra Bisonhower.

Following some significant back and forth negotiations, the Chief at last turned toward Judy and Nick, who had matching expectant expressions.

"He's on board. More than that, he was hoping we'd be planning something like this," he explained.

"Police working with the mafia. What could go wrong?" said Nick sarcastically.

Bogo ignored him and, returning the phone to it's owner, he said, "furthermore, he wants to talk to you."

Judy shrugged and put the phone to her ear.

"Hello! Yes it has been too long. Wh-what? Well… Yes. Okay. Alright. See you then…"

Judy quietly pocketed her phone with a musing expression on her face. Before Nick could pick her brain, a voice called out from the house:

"Supper's nearly ready!"

Bogo and Judy left the haybarn without a word or even so much as a passing glance. Instead of feeling put out, Nick felt the need to press on.

All through the evening, Nick tried and failed to talk to Judy. Every conversation was deflected by a response like "I'm fine," or "there's nothing to worry about, Slick." Nick thought he'd finally nabbed a time to talk when Judy declared she was calling it a night, only to find her fast asleep a moment later.

Out of ideas at this point, Nick lay back on a vacant couch. He too descended to slumber near immediately, despite the array of thoughts clouding his mind.

Nick awoke suddenly the next morning, with a glance outside he saw the sun already in the sky. His paws unconsciously walked him out the front door to Chief Bogo, the cape buffalo busy checking his vehicle over.

Simply to acknowledge Nick's presence, Bogo said, "Wilde."

"Morning, Chief."

As usual, Chief Bogo had no time for chatter, merely saying, "I'm more or less ready when you are, find Hopps and we can be on our way."

Nick nodded and returned to the expansive rabbit household. Built more like a homely hotel, to get from one end to the other took as much as ten minutes due to navigating hallways and living areas.

Nick's chest grew tighter with every minute that passed while he looked for Judy. Feeling quite flustered after more than an hour of searching, he stopped for a breather in a kitchen.

"You okay there?" asked Stu, who happened to enter the room.

"Yeah… No, maybe I'm not. I don't know."

"Hmph. Well, if you need anything, give us a shout, alrighty?" said Stu, turning away.

Nick stood up.

"Stu, wait."

The rabbit father stopped and turned to face Nick again.

"I'm looking for Carr- Erm, I mean, I'm looking for Judy. Do you know where she is?" said Nick.

Stu started off dismissive, saying, "Oh I'm sure she's around somewhere." His voice trailed off then he looked Nick in the eye, "Actually, I don't know where she is. But I know a place she might be."

Nick stared back expectantly.

"Whenever Jude needed some time to think, she'd go sit at the base of the big oak at the south end of the farm. Out the back door, up the hill, you can see it from there. It's quite a walk, about a mile and a half I think."

Nick had hurried off before Stu could even close his mouth, sending a "thank you" over his shoulder as he raced down a hallway.

Out the back door and up the hill, Nick scanned the horizon. Then he saw it. The only object that stood out from the miles of lush countryside - Stu wasn't lying when he said it was big.

Even making a bee line for that oak, the trek felt like forever in a day.

Finally cresting the hill where the tree was rooted, Nick had to stop to admire the mighty oak. Nothing in the city came close.

As Nick's eyes were drawn across the length of the tree's immense trunk, he caught sight of a small creature at it's base, nestled amongst some large roots.

When Nick approached the little bunny, she looked up at him and wordlessly scooched over. When he sat beside her, Judy leaned into him.

"Alright then, bring it in," said Nick, putting an arm around Judy's shoulder.

Looking down at her face, the fur around Judy's eyes was damp and her collar had wet patches around the front.

"I see," said Nick. "You've had to cram two weeks into a day and a half…"

Nick wasn't sure where he was going with that sentence.

"You know, Chief Bogo actually reacted when I told him you were hospitalized," said Nick, "his eyes widened a tiny fraction of an inch and the corners of his mouth-"

Nick stopped talking when he saw Judy silently giggling at his story.

"That's right, Carrots," he said, "you broke him. Sort of."

Nick felt calmer than he'd felt in two weeks. He had barely slept the whole time Judy was in hospital, now he felt it in every part of his body. Judy had fallen asleep on him, he couldn't bear to wake her up. Nick let his head rest against the tree, his eyes slowly rolled shut as he dwelt on the warmth he felt in his heart.

The glare of the setting sun and hard prodding from Judy woke Nick up.

"Come on, Slick," said Judy, "wake up!"

Nick yawned, stretched and began to slowly stand himself up.

"What's the rush?" asked Nick.

"We have to be back in Zootopia before sundown! Remember the plan?"

"No," said Nick, "at least I would if you had actually told me the plan…"

Judy rolled her eyes, then realized the fox was right.

"You know how I was on the phone to Mr. Big, right?"

Nick nodded.

"He's throwing a party, a ball... Thing. It's all a front. Understand?"

Nick wasn't sure he did understand, but Judy didn't give him the chance to respond, immediately setting a quick pace in the direction of the farmhouse. Nick had no choice but to follow.

The return hike felt like forever but at the same time it felt as though not enough time had passed before Judy and Nick reached the farmhouse.

Nick had to match Judy's pace stride for stride to keep from getting left behind as she deftly navigated the network of halls and open rooms that made up her childhood home.

Chief Bogo turned abruptly to witness Judy and Nick, the latter after running out of breath, emerge suddenly from the front door.

"Where have you been all day?" Bogo demanded.

Judy stopped. "Hold that thought, I'll be right back!"

"But you've only just…" said Bogo, voice trailing off.

Judy had already disappeared back into the house. Nick looked to the house, then to Bogo.

"I think I'll…" Nick didn't bother finishing his sentence, he just sauntered back inside.

Bogo huffed and stomped about, relenting to give his vehicle one last once over.

Following Judy's faintly sweet scent, Nick found her rifling through a closet, occasionally holding a dress in front of a mirror then tossing it away unceremoniously. Nick stepped closer and watched from a short distance.

Nick idly reached into the closet and pulled out a hanger. On it was a cream colored dress with a knot across the chest.

"Here. This one," said Nick, passing the hanger to Judy.

"A-are you sure? Good dress sense doesn't come to mind when I think of you…"

"Come on, Carrots. Trust me. Otherwise we'll be here all night."

Judy reluctantly conceded to Nick's choice. They quietly returned to Chief Bogo and embarked on the road back to the city.

* * *

 **End Notes**

At over 2,800 words, this one is third longest.

Chapter name is a reference to Star Trek IV: _The Voyage Home_. With that in mind, this chapter contains no whales, time travel or Montgomery Scott trying to talk to a mid-80's computer with the mouse.

Chapter VII won't be far off. Most of it was written in notepad on a late 90's Toshiba laptop after my PC died, I just have to rewrite the start of it.


	8. Chapter VII: Having a Ball

The last time Nick sat in the back of a limousine beside Judy, he was being driven to his death - more or less. This situation, though arguably not quite so dire, still filled him with anxiety - formal dos were not his forte.

The vehicle came to a stop outside the entrance to a large entertaining space, coincidentally the same space used for the wedding of Mr Big's daughter, Fru Fru.

Koslov, standing nearby, stepped forward and opened the passenger door. Nick hesitated and tensed up, easing off when he felt a paw on his shoulder.

"Try to relax, Nick. This'll be fun," said Judy.

Nick nodded, and, taking a breath, he put on a brave face and exited the vehicle, Judy following behind.

Inside the building was incredible, lavish decorations and luxurious bouquets of flowers. Glorious chandeliers lit the room with a bright golden glow, perfectly illuminating the scores of suits and dresses that filled the floor, complete with a full band playing jazzy tunes.

A polar bear silently waved Judy and Nick over to a table over by the band's stage. On said table was Mr Big, who grinned from ear to ear when he saw them.

"Judith, my dear girl. You look absolutely beautiful!" he said warmly as Judy came closer.

"Oh, thank you! I can't take all the credit, Nick picked it out," said Judy.

"Did he now?" Mr Big said, pausing when he saw Nick approaching. Taking note of the fox's suit he added, "after so long, it's good to see that you still shine up like a new penny."

"Hm? Oh. Right." said Nick, evasively.

As the band took a turn towards bossa, Nick and Judy parted ways to touch base with other officers who were critical to tomorrow's operation. Nick only had a pawful of individuals to greet, so it took little time.

As Nick weaved through the crowd, someone bumped into him from behind. The sandy colored creature turned around to apologize but hesitated when he saw Nick - it was that cat from two weeks ago, here, serving drinks.

"S-sorry sir," he started, "actually, I'm glad I caught you…"

Nick expectantly waited.

"I just want to say how sorry I am for that little altercation we had when we met."

Nick paused before responding, "I accept your apology."

The cat nodded, he turned away and continued serving drinks, seemingly satisfied. Himself going about his business, Nick couldn't stop thinking, wondering why _he_ was _here_.

It came to the time that he linked up with Judy again.

"Everybody on my list is on board," said Judy, subtly.

"Same here," Nick said.

As Judy and Nick spoke, the band was quiet, discussing what they should play next. After some conversing, they returned to their instruments to play Hoggy Carmichael's 'Heart And Soul'.

"May I have this dance?" asked Nick with a subtle grin.

"Do you even know how to dance?" mocked Judy.

"My mother was the type who could not abide her son not knowing how to dance. Do _you_ know how to dance?" Nick asked.

"Well, I… I erm, not really, no," said Judy.

Nick locked arms with her and started pulling her along to the dancefloor.

"Hey! Nick, I-I'm not so sure about this, aren't you worried I might stand on your toes? Bunnies have big feet!" cried Judy.

"It's education time. Just like you said in the car, Carrots: 'Try to relax, this'll be fun,'" explained Nick.

"Okay. What do I do?"

"Just follow my lead. You put your left paw on my right shoulder, and hold my other paw out here," he explained.

Judy did just as Nick said, he had his left arm out to the side to hold her right paw. She had to stifle a nervous gasp as she felt Nick place a firm yet gentle paw on her waist. Going along with Nick's movements, the two began to sway in time with the music.

"Look at that," said Nick, "you're a natural."

"You're just saying that to make me feel less awkward," said Judy, constantly looking down at her feet.

"No… I'm saying that because it's true. And hey, look at _me_ , stop worrying about my toes," said Nick.

"Yeah but…"

"I'll say it again, Judy. Focus on me," said Nick, his voice a little firmer this time.

Judy complied and looked into her best friend's eyes. Nick's wonderful green eyes. The tension in her shoulders eased off, her breathing steadied and her nervous expression gave way to a warm, genuine smile.

Nick smiled back. That warm contented feeling he'd felt earlier that day flooded back.

Eventually, the musical number ended and their dance drew to a close, though it took a moment to part themselves.

The sound of a silver spoon tinking on the side of a stem glass drew the attention of those present. The holder of the aforementioned spoon was none other than Mr Big himself, standing upon a table.

"I would like to thank my many guests for being present for tonight's very impromptu function. Sadly though, it must come to an end. Our new benefactor prefers we do not stay up too late," spoke the shrew, the latter statement tinged with malice.

"Must be talking about Bisonhower," said Judy quietly, to which Nick nodded.

"Please make your way to the exit - and don't forget your favors," Said Mr Big, all the while discreetly drawing his eyes over the guests who were also ZPD officers.

Judy watched the favors - gift bags, being handed out. They seemed like unremarkable totes, handed out with little apparent discretion.

This was, of course, until Officer Wolfard (dressed in an unfortunate looking corduroy two-piece), approached the exit. The polar handing out the totes paused and made sure to give him the right one.

Soon enough it was Judy and Nick's turn: they both resisted the urge to open them right up, instead heading immediately outside and try their best not to give away the suspect weightiness of the bags' contents.

* * *

Taking the quietest, most disused, and unsurveilled routes, our heroes made it back to Judy's apartment at the _Grand Pangolin Arms_ without drawing any attention.

Reaching her door, Judy unlocked it and went inside. Nick unthinkingly tried to follow and was immediately shoved back into the hallway.

"Wha- hey! What gives?"

"I need to change out of this dress. As if I'm going to do that in front of a peeping fox!" said Judy in good humor, slamming the door in Nick's face.

"For the last time, that was an accident! I didn't look on purpose! I swear!" cried Nick, clearly taking it personally.

The fox shook his head and turned for the bathroom on that floor. As he did so, he caught sight of Bucky and Pronk Oryx-Antlerson eyeing him through their door which was open just a crack.

"What are you two looking at?" Nick demanded.

The two horned mammals exchanged glances, declared "You" in perfect unison and abruptly shut their door. Nick skulked away to change.

Back in his trademark attire, Nick reached for the door handle of Judy's apartment. After a thoughtful moment, he opted to knock on the door instead of just barging in.

"Come in," Judy said from inside.

Pushing the door open, Nick could see Judy sitting cross-legged on her bed, idly reading through her phone. She wore a sleeveless top over some kind of underthing to cover any gaps and a pair of shorts - in other words, a lot more _casual_ than Nick was used to.

"So. you ready to check these baggies out?" asked Judy.

"Am I ever," said Nick, sitting beside her and peering into his goodie bag.

He pulled out a jacket-esque garment that unfurled as it escaped the bag, revealing itself to be a black trenchcoat in his size.

"Neato," said Judy, pulling the same out of her own bag.

"Uhm, Carrots… Take another look," said Nick, reaching back into his bag.

"Ooh! What is it?" asked Judy excitably, clambering closer to see better.

Nick pulled his arm back. In his paw was some sort of funky tranquilizer with "MOUSER MACHINENPISTOLE T96" stamped into the side.

The T96 was a gas powered, clip fed, semi-automatic tranquilizer gun designed in 1996 by Prussania Waffen und Munitionsfabriken for the Prussanic military police.

"Tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day."

* * *

Ezra Bisonhower idly swiveled around in Chief Bogo's chair. He knew that not getting Hopps the other day would prove to be a considerable speed bump.

The bison got up and leisurely sauntered down the steps of ZPD headquarters, coming to a stop by reception. One of his lackeys immediately greeted him.

"Evening, sir."

"How is the _free_ city of Zootopia faring, Leslie?" asked Ezra.

"A few complaints about the 'toilet papers' is all," said Leslie.

Before a dull moment could be had, a nearby 'deputy' stepped forward, frazzled as anything.

"It's not all sunshine and roses! Somethin's been going down in Tundratown!"

Ezra Bisonhower remained dead silent.

"It's that Mr Big! Apparently Hopps was spotted there, they _must_ be planning some sort of counterattack! Should I get some folks together and hit it?" said the deputy, rambling frantically.

"That's funny, 'cause I don't remember askin' you a Goddamn thing!" Ezra roared.

Leslie and the deputy shrunk in fear.

"S-sir?" asked the deputy sheepishly.

"Do nothing. Let them have their fun… I have it all under control. If they come… Let them! I am _not_ afraid of them."

* * *

 **End Notes**

I had fun with this when I wrote it. It wasn't easy transcribing it to Google Docs.

Enough about me. Even though it's short, I still love this chapter!

This was one of those ones, like _Catalytic Encounters,_ that was heavily influenced by music. The pieces I imagine playing are Nina Simone's _My Baby Just Cares For Me_ as they walk in, a bossa cover of Maroon 5's _Sunday Morning_ through the middle and obviously, Hoagy Carmichael's _Heart And Soul_ during the dance segment.

I more or less feel that _Sunday Morning_ is sort of the theme tune to this novel as a whole. Genre-wise it matches the neo-noir spin and the emotional beats match some character arcs - in my mind at least. In fact, the working title for this chap. was "Sunday Meow-ning".

Until next month, I bid you adieu.


	9. Chapter VIII: Ode to Mr Anderson

Judy awoke with a yawn and a stretch at 0529 on the dot. Nick awoke with a grunt and a groan at 0530 on the dot due to Judy's alarm clock.

Thumping the clock, Judy leapt down from her bed and shook Nick (who'd slept on her sofa) to full wakefulness.

"Ngh. Come on Carrots. Is it seven already?" droned Nick.

"Seven?! Are you kidding, Slick? That's when the oldies get up. Come on, get your coat on, grab your tranq, it's time to take back our home.

"Alright, alright. I'm getting up." Said Nick.

"Excellent." She said.

Nick couldn't help a slight smile from forming as he watched the little bunny mill about for a moment.

* * *

Dressed in matching black trench coats, Judy and Nick waited silently in a Savanna Central alleyway.

A brush of static was followed by the words, "Communications check."

"We hear you loud and clear, Chief," said Judy, tapping her earpiece.

"Excellent. Koslov and his teams are in position," explained Bogo, adding "move in."

"You got it, Chief. Deliverer One out."

Judy nodded to Nick and started toward the street.

Nick said "Let's kick it," and followed close.

It was a straight shot to the station from their position. With his keen eyes, Nick spotted a few of Bisonhower's goons lazily patrolling the front doors.

The two were about to leave their cover when Bogo appeared from behind a nearby pillar, silently approaching.

"I've got bad news. Koslov's teams are pulling out." Said the Chief.

"You're kidding," said Judy.

"Mr Big left us out to dry?" asked Nick.

"Not likely, there's more to it than that," said Bogo, "but this ain't over yet."

"How is it not over? Koslov's guys were covering our flanks - going out there now would be like running through a minefield," said Nick, derisively.

"Well, thank you Captain Pessimist. Just stay low, when I give the signal, run as fast as you possibly can and keep your fingers on your triggers," said Bogo, a heartbeat before turning away and getting back to his position.

All of a sudden, Nick felt like he was in a Medal of Honor game.

"What _is_ the signal?" asked Nick.

Judy just shrugged.

A loud and sudden noise caught their attention, it was Chief Bogo, tearing across the plaza bellowing at the top of his lungs.

" _Charge!_ " he roared.

"That must be it, come on Nick!" yelled Judy as she stood and bolted for the station entrance.

"I'm right behind you!" cried Nick, sprinting as fast as his legs would take him.

Nick fired off darts in the direction of the station. Nick was a terrible shot and the darts impacted seemingly vainly around his targets. As if in response to his volley, more shots were fired from behind; they came from the other officers who had been lying in wait for the 'signal'.

Bogo, Judy and Nick held position at the foot of the steps leading into ZPD headquarters while the other officers pushed their way inside, already having made short work of the guards stationed outside.

"We shouldn't stay out here!" yelled Bogo as tranquilizer darts started coming in from all around the plaza.

As the three backed toward the entrance to the ZPD, Judy cried out in pain.

"Carrots!" Nick yelled, "Are you all right?"

"I-I'm hit but I'll be okay!" she yelled, pulling a dart out of her thigh, trying to hobble to the door before the chemicals kicked in.

"Hang on!" yelled Nick, "I'm on my way!"

Because of all the commotion, Nick was completely unaware of an unmarked van that had mounted the nearby kerb and headed straight for him.

The vehicle screeched to a stop but still hit Nick with enough force to send him tumbling backward head over heels.

Even with stars clouding his vision, Nick clambered desperately over to Judy. Through his dazed eyes he could just make out her outline, losing balance and falling, only to be scooped up by thugs that arrived in the van.

Nick cried out as he felt a pair of strong arms lifting and carrying him away.

"No! Carrots, Hopps! Judy…!"

* * *

Nick blinked to wakefulness. His eyes told him he was in Chief Bogo's office at the ZPD - or what was left of it after goons had trashed the place.

"Good. I was just about to head back downstairs," said Bogo, acknowledging Nick's consciousness.

Nick's head pounded as he braced against the wall and pulled himself to a standing position. Every part of his body ached when he stepped toward the Chief.

The fox awkwardly lent on Bogo's desk and asked quietly, "Where is she? Where is Judy? Is she safe?"

Bogo visibly grimaced, "she's gone, Wilde."

"No…" whimpered Nick, "No!" he yelled.

Nick hobbled closer to Chief Bogo and clutched his shirt, saying, "You listen to me! Judy is out there… Somewhere."

"You don't know that!"

"Yes. Yes I do. Back at the hospital, I think they tried the same thing," explained Nick, "They said something about needing her _alive_."

"For what?"

"Whatever it is, it's reason enough to get everyone together and go find her!" cried Nick.

"I know you care about Hopps. I'm not going to get caught up with exactly how much but you need to understand - we won the battle but the war is still raging."

Nick just stared through him.

"Think, Wilde! Think! What would Hopps do in our position?" asked Bogo, trying to appeal to the fox's sense of reason.

"Sh-she would… She would do her duty - ensure that the citizens are safe," Nick said defeatedly.

Chief Bogo bowed his head. Sensing the thoughts that clouded Nick's mind prompted him to ask, "What will you do now?"

"I think I'll go away for a while."

"Where?" asked Bogo.

"I'll be around, but there's something I need you to look after while I'm gone."

Nick reached into his pocket and placed a shiny metal object in Chief Bogo's hand, closing the buffalo's fingers over it.

"But-" Bogo started. He huffed and continued, "alright, I'll keep it warm."

Stepping outside, a faint glint caught Nick's eye. Not ten feet from where he stood, a fallen ZPD badge lay upon the pavement. Stepping closer, Nick bent down and picked it up. Small and impeccably polished, it could only be Judy's badge.

Were she in Nick's situation, Judy wouldn't give up, after all, it was she who took on a cold missing mammal case with zero leads, zero evidence and no witnesses, no resources to boot.

Nick had played the lone wolf a long time before joining the ZPD, yet he always had some kind of helper. So he'd do what he always did, use what he _did_ have: Resources.

Nick sneakily returned inside, logging onto a computer in the quiet office section of ZPD HQ. After a brief loading time, the city database was at his disposal. Out of other ideas, Nick figured he'd con that 'Kenny' cat into helping him out.

Search after search yielded no helpful results, Nick didn't even think the name 'Kenneth' belonged to a thousand mammals across the globe and yet the Kenneths of Zootopia alone were more than that.

In the traffic cam monitoring system, Nick navigated to the camera that overlooked the driveway for Mr Big's property and scrubbed back through to the time of last night's function. With a bit of patience and a touch of meticulous effort, Nick finally spotted the target - small feline, broad build and possibly late teens to early twenties.

The cat entered some sort of 80's model coupe and drove off. Nick followed the vehicle through the camera network until he got a clear view of the license plate number.

"Bingo," said Nick as he ran the plate through the system.

Interestingly enough, the vehicle was registered to an "Isaac Katzendale Jr." with a string of speeding tickets, charges of reckless driving and suspected street racing. On top of that, it seemed he still lived at home.

With a sly grin, Nick rose from his seat and set a quick pace out the back of the ZPD, making a bee line for the bar. It was time to pay "Isaac" a visit.

With the bar just a few hundred meters South of the main plaza, Nick got there in nothing flat. Sure enough, the same coupe from the camera footage sat empty, parked behind the building.

Probably due to the day's earlier commotion, the bar had a pretty low population. In the corner, a wet floor sign propped the door to the bathroom ajar and a sign reading "cleaning in progress" hung askew on the handle.

"With any luck," thought Nick, pulling the door open entering a cloud of chemical scents.

Nick's hunch being right, the cat known as "Kenny" idly mopped the floor, lightly bobbing his head to whatever played through his earbuds. Nick's sudden entry startled him slightly.

"Hey, can't you read? It says..."

Kenny stopped when he saw Nick.

"Oh," he said, "you again. You know, I can't help but feel like you're following me around."

"Well, as it happens I am. This time," said Nick, deliberately blocking the door.

The cat stopped mopping. He huffed and rolled his eyes.

"I already apologized. What else do you want from me?!" he demanded.

"You _are_ going to help _me_ out."

"Excuse me?" asked Kenny, his expression one of quizzical disbelief.

Nick stayed silent.

"Your cop buddies can't help you? I mean, what, they too busy getting their asses kicked?"

"No… You are going to help me or face justice for your transgressions," explained Nick, confidently standing his ground.

Kenny laughed, "Oh jeez, you are such a tool. Now, if you don't mind, I have toilets to bleach."

"Comes with the territory," said Nick, slowly stepping closer, "so, you won't mind if I pay Mom a visit?"

Kenny froze for a second, "So I live with my Mom, big deal! It's more economically viable."

"So she knows about the tickets? What about the racing?"

"What racing?" dared Kenny.

"Your little need for speed outings. I have you on camera hooning in that little clunker you have out back."

"Th-that's not, no, y-you see I… I-It's a common misconception," said Kenny, tripping over every syllable.

Nick grinned victoriously.

"This is extortion, you sh-should be a-ashamed!" stammered Kenny.

"It's called a hustle. Get over it. So, I'll see you tomorrow, 9 AM, your mother's house?"

Kenny frowned like an unhappy toddler. "Fine," he spat.

With that sorted, Nick sauntered out the front door and onto the streets. The dark of night had set in, the area was lit by pale moonlight and street lamps.

As he walked, rain began to fall from the clouded sky, growing more intense with each pawstep. Soon enough, Nick stopped directing his steps, instead opting to follow wherever his paws took him.

Lost in thought, Nick unconsciously walked block after block in the rain, eventually coming to a stop before the Grand Pangolin Arms. He entered the dimly lit foyer and kept walking until he reached Judy's apartment.

The door still unlocked from that morning, Nick needed only to turn the handle to gain entry. It did feel somewhat wrong to be here without Judy, yet, had he been somewhere else it wouldn't have felt 'right' either.

The sound of heavy rain lulled the fox to sleep.

* * *

 **End Notes**

There's going to be less time spent on these notes going forward.

If you like an FPS with atmosphere, give _Halo 3 ODST_ a try. It's got some of Marty O'Donnell's best work, like "Deference for Darkness".


	10. Chapter IX: Deference for Daylight

Squeaky trolley wheels and creaking metal broke up the sound of pawsteps as two canids, one pushing a cage, down a long, dank hallway. Machinery whirred endlessly, creating a constant and irritating vibration.

The two dogs epitomized the concept of opposites; fat and skinny, tolerable and hideous.

Inside the cage, Judy awoke, cold, uncomfortable and sore. Unable to hear her own thoughts for all the noise pollution, she grunted with the effort needed to sit up.

A nearby voice caught her attention, saying "Huh? Oh, you're awake."

The voice belonged to the skinny, bedraggled creature that bore just enough of the traits needed to be classified as a wolf.

"Who are you and where are you taking me?!" Judy demanded croakily.

"Now, now. Don't get your panties in a knot," said the wolf, adding, "just a little trip to the doctor."

"Doctor? What Doctor? What kind of operation are you running here?"

"Sheesh. So many questions. The Doc's 'patients' normally ain't this chatty."

"I dunno, I think it's a nice change," said the other, plumper wolf, "the others were always so quiet."

Skinny wolf sighed, "That would be because they were _sedated_ , you dolt."

"Oh yeah."

The cage finally reached the door at the end of the hall, skinny wolf approached to open it. From behind, Judy watched him closely, he hesitated, after a notable grimace he reluctantly turned the handle and pushed through.

Unpleasant scents of chemicals, drool, musk and alcohol bombarded Judy's nose as the cage passed the threshold of the door.

"Doc? Hey Doc! Got yer latest er… Toy," yelled skinny wolf.

The sound of a chair scraping broke through the background noise enough to herald the creature that emerged from behind a divider panel. It plodded toward the two wolves and the cage, with a clipboard under one arm, still obscured by shadows.

"Please, have more respect - these are living beings, after all," said the Doctor.

Skinny wolf scoffed, "You almost had me believing you gave half a damn."

"You will find," said the Doctor, as he stepped into the glow of a ceiling light, "that I do care, and a great deal at that."

Thick, clumpy, matted fur surrounded the Cat Doctor's bespectacled face. He wore a crumpled lab coat covered in stains of all sorts over a set of clothes that looked as though they'd never been washed, ever. He stunk, too.

Apathetically, Skinny wolf said, "Whatever, creeper. Alrighty then, Miss bunny. It's time you met the other long term residents of the happytown hotel."

"No! No. This one has a far greater purpose, and I cannot guarantee her safety in the pens," said the Doctor, "she will stay here in the lab, under my direct supervision."

"Well… Ok then. On that note, I'm leaving. Ba-bye now," said Skinny wolf, muttering "freak" under his breath as he left, Plump wolf following closely.

The Doctor quietly wandered over to his desk and sat down to write in a notebook. Judy never took his eyes off him. After a time, he stood and walked with purpose right up to the cage, peering in at Judy.

"So. What are you going to do with me?" dared Judy.

The Doctor continued his inspection, noting his findings on the scuffed and faded clipboard in his stained grey paws.

"Are you waiting for me to break? Ready to pounce when I'm most vulnerable?"

The Cat huffed in frustration and stood back, taking a moment to compose himself, lest he rudely retort.

"Do stop being **_so_** preposterous," he said, turning away, "It is already plenty troublesome getting science done in this cesspool."

Judy wasn't finished asking questions: "Who are you anyway?"

"You don't remember me? I must say, I expected more from you, Judith. Everyone speaks so highly of you."

"Wha… Don't you call me _Judith_ ," retorted Judy with a puzzled look.

"That is your name though, is it not? I do object to the obtuse shortening of given names," explained the Doctor.

Though he looked as though he had a lot more to say, the Doctor clammed up when another visitor entered the space.

"Do try not to divulge literally everything to our prisoners," said the newcomer, his deep, booming voice revealing it to be Ezra Bisonhower himself, adding "unless you're talking to yourself again."

"Ah, Mr Bisonhower. So far it seems as though Gamma is the one," said Doctor, to which Ezra nodded dismissively, "additionally, I believe I'm close to a breakthrough in my research! You see I've…"

Bisonhower cut him off: "Doctor, please. I'm not here for your hobbies. Is… _She_ here?"

"Hopps, Judith Laverne? Certainly. She just arrived."

" _Is she secure?_ "

"See for yourself, sir. She's right beside you," said Doctor, pointing out the cage by the door.

Ezra turned and, on seeing the caged Judy Hopps, leapt out of his skin and lurched backward.

" _Don't do that_!" He yelped at the Doctor.

The bison stood firm, straightened his suit and left, slamming the door behind him.

The Doctor stepped beside the cage and watched the door furtively, very deep in thought. He lifted a dictaphone to his mouth and began recording:

"Subject 027. Hopps, Judith L. Oryctolagus Cuniculus. Female. 26 years of age. Mostly gray pelt, pink skin. Underweight, though this is corroborated by her medical records. Notable features include purple irises, black tipped ears, and particular lack of inhibition when compared with others of her species."

* * *

Standing in the rain, Nick paused to check the time before crossing the road to reach Isaac's house.

 _08:57 AM._

Being in the low rent part of South Savanna Central, the Katzendale household had something of a 'homely poverty' look that reminded Nick Wilde of his own childhood home.

Nick stepped up to the faded red door and gave it a firm knock. Sounds of shuffling could be heard until a sickly looking female feline pulled open the door.

"Hello? What do you want at this hour?" she said, in an accent Nick couldn't quite place.

"Good morning ma'am. Does an Isaac Katzendale live here, by any chance?" asked Nick, cautiously.

"Yes. I'm his mother."

Nick hesitated before speaking again. This creature's slumped posture and wizened eyes led Nick to assume Isaac's grandmother had answered the door.

"Ah, I see," said Nick, adding "I had arranged to meet with him, can you let him know I'm here?"

"I don't know, _can I?_ " she asked, snidely, "of course I can. He's just doing some washing. Y'know, laundry. Come in, have a cuppa."

"Oh no, that won't be necessary, I don't want to impose. I'll just-"

"Nonsense, it's not imposing, come in, it's pissing down out there," interrupted Isaac's Mom.

Nick relented and went through the door. Isaac's Mom lead him down a dimly lit hallway full of discolored wallpaper that curled at the corners. Stopping at a junction, she turned into a small yet well laid out living room.

"I'll just let Iggles know you're here," she said, wandering into the next room and yelling: "Isaac! Your friend is here!"

"Who?"

Isaac's Mom returned to the living room, saying, "Excuse me, your face looks familiar but I can't put a name to it. Who are you?"

Nick hesitated. He decided to take advantage of the fact that she didn't know who he was.

"Jim. I'm Jim… Kirk."

"Nice to meet you Jim," said Isaac's Mom, shaking Nick's paw, "my name's Āwhina."

She waddled back out, "Jim's here! Jim Kirk!"

"Wait, what? Did you say Jim Kirk?"

"Yes!"

After some clunking, crashing,and bashing, Nick heard rapid pawsteps come from somewhere in the house, on carpet, tiles, until Isaac ultimately appeared in a doorway.

"Mom, haven't I told you before? James T. Kirk is from…" Isaac stopped dead when he saw Nick Wilde standing in the living room.

"What the Hell is he doing in here? You let him in?" cried Isaac.

Āwhina hit him up the back of the head and scolded him, "That is no way to treat a guest! Boy, you get in that kitchen and make your sick mother some espresso! Don't forget the vanilla shot!"

"But…"

"No buts! And make Mr Kirk one of those awesome lattes."

As Isaac skulked away Nick said, "My apologies, but I don't know if we have the time to sit and have coffee."

"We've got takeaway cups," said Āwhina, adding, "take a seat while you wait."

Nick sat down on the surprisingly comfortable couch that clearly had not been moved in many years. Āwhina too sat down, however on a recliner so new and fresh looking it appeared out of place next everything else.

Before thoughts could build up in Nick's mind, Āwhina spoke yet again: "Such a shame about that bunny cop."

"How do you mean?" asked nick.

"I like to listen to the radio but recently it's been full of those nutters harping on about freedom from oppression. Anyways, this morning they were saying 'the fugitive officer Hopps has been neutralized' or something like that."

"Meaning what?"

"Iggles reckons it's a good thing!" said Āwhina, shaking her head.

"I _can_ hear you guys!" Isaac called out.

"Good for you! Why can't I hear any milk being steamed?"

Silence from the kitchen, followed by the sharp gurgle of frothing milk.

Nick dared to ask, "What do you think? About Hopps?"

"She is a breath of fresh air. Such a sweet girl. One day, at this busy intersection, the lights went on the fritz. She drives her golf cart to the middle and climbs up top and starts directing traffic! If that wasn't enough, she stopped everything just to help little old me get to the chemist."

Nick listened contentedly until Isaac returned, presumably from the kitchen, with freshly made espresso.

"Thank you son," said Āwhina with a warm smile as she took hold of her frothy cappuccino with both paws.

"Shall we be off then?" asked Isaac, holding out a steaming to-go cup for Nick to grab.

Nick nodded as stood, taking the cup as he headed for the room's exit. Before leaving though, he turned and said, "Thank you for your time, Mrs Katzendale."

Isaac's Mom nodded happily as both Nick and her son left the living room. As she heard the door close, her expression turned from pleased to one of deep concern for her child.

Nick got settled in the passenger seat of Isaac's coupe while the cat performed an obsessive compulsive pre-drive check. Nick finished a long sip from his coffee as Isaac turned the key and brought the vehicle to life.

"Oh. My. God," said Nick, drawing the cup away from his muzzle, adding, "this is without a doubt, the _best_ damn latte I have ever had."

Isaac just shot him a disdainful look and said, "That's great. Fantastic. Positively fabulous."

Nick rolled his eyes and gathered his thoughts for a moment before looking at the cat in the eye, "You know, the sarcastic cynicism thing just doesn't work for you."

Isaac looked ready to shoot back a retort but Nick cut him off.

"Nuh-uh. Hear me out. The voice, yeah it's okay. But then I look at your face - little chubby cheeks under that soft fuzz - and it's gone. It also doesn't help that this car smells like it belongs to a checkout chick. Is that lavender?"

"No," frowned Isaac, "it's frangipani. And hey, are we gonna do this or what? All you've done so far is roast me."

"Alright alright. Police station. Any one will do, I just need to get into the network."

Nick didn't bother talking to Isaac while he drove, he seemed to already be plenty tense. Admittedly though, he may have been a _little_ hard on the kid. Nick had to dismiss his thoughts as Isaac discreetly pulled up to the station belonging to third precinct.

"Coast looks clear," said Nick, "come on, kid."

The two predators approached warily. Inside, they had to step over upturned furniture and scattered paperwork.

"It's… It's like, deserted," Isaac said nervously.

"Hmph. The way I figure it, big bad Bisonhower still has a grip on the city - over there! A computer, looks like it still works!"

Nick hurried over and started mashing buttons in the hopes it would start up. Isaac scurried over and merely hit the power button.

"Right. Thanks."

"Okay, fill me in. What are we doing here?" Asked Isaac, quizzically watching Nick navigate to the traffic camera feed.

"Pulling a leaf out my old playbook; hitting up the jam cams," explained Nick.

Nick pulled up the camera overlooking the entrance to ZPD HQ, tensing up as he watched himself get hit by a van in third person.

Nick switched feeds as the vehicle left the frame. The feed suddenly stopped before Nick could see where it went next, he narrowed his eyes and flicked through adjacent feeds to find it.

"What's up?" asked Isaac.

"Every time I spot the van," started Nick, "the camera that shows it gets taken out."

"Check the maintenance view," said Isaac flatly.

"The what?"

"Security systems always usually have a screen that shows the status of every alarm or camera in a group, though I take it you didn't know that," Isaac explained.

Nick looked at him blankly, "Achieving what?"

After an exasperated huff, Isaac said "Only certain cameras have gone down, right? Like, as opposed to the whole network."

"Yup. So it seems."

Isaac continued, "So, if you load up the maintenance screen, it'll show which specific cameras are running and which ones aren't."

"Showing us the path they took through the city?" asked Nick.

Isaac nodded, "I guess so."

After a furtive glance, Nick stood up and said, "Show me."

Isaac said nothing as he took the helm. With a few clicks and a bit of typing, he brought up a simplified map of the city's entire network of traffic cameras, each represented by colored dots. Nick leaned in and followed a trail of red dots with one claw, tracing all the way as it snaked across the city.

"So they went around HQ, headed North a ways, then hung a sharp turn to the West, skirting the edges of the Rainforest District."

"So what now?"

"Well, we still don't know where Ezra's hiding, but at least we narrowed down our search. Come on kid, let's go find us a bison," said Nick excitably.

Isaac reluctantly stepped down from the chair saying, "As riveting as that sounds . . . I can't. I have to work tonight."

"Well," started Nick, his posture deflating and ears drooping.

Isaac, stepping over and looking quite conflicted, finally huffed and said, "Look here. I'm not working at all tomorrow, I just have to go with Mom to an appointment. So let's say, we meet after that, and continue your blackmail-ridden wild goose chase then?"

Nick nodded dejectedly and followed the cat back to his car, only said cat kept walking, so Nick idly followed.

"Where'ya going?" asked Nick.

"I'm hungry. It's time for lunch. I'm going to get lunch."

"Sorry I asked. You know, I'm beginning to think your attitude problem is just you. Know what I mean, Izzy?" said Nick.

No response came. After a few steps Nick stopped and turned about only to find Isaac had disappeared into thin air. Turning back again, Nick found a young female feline with deep amber eyes standing right across from him.

"Hi!" she said.

"Hello there," said Nick.

"Sorry to bother you, mister. But have you seen a cat like me around? Not exactly like me, though. A little taller, icy blue eyes, cute chubby cheeks? Oh, and I should probably mention that he is a _he_. A boy. you know, a tomcat."

Nick had to process a moment to respond, "Er, no. I have not."

The pouty look that overtook her features almost broke Nick's little fox heart.

"But tell you what," Nick said, "I think I know him. If I do see him, I'll tell him you're looking for him."

"Oh thank you, mister! Oh, by the way, my name is Chloe. Oh my God, you handled that well, some random girl comes up asking if you've seen somebody . . . Yikes!"

Nick said nothing else as Chloe fluttered away, throwing a bubbly wave over her shoulder.

Isaac's sudden reappearance from a nearby alley interrupted Nick's thoughts.

"That was a close one. Good save, fox," said Isaac, awkwardly rubbing his neck.

"You're welcome . . . I guess,"

"No joke, not even kidding, she is absolutely **_insufferable_** ," explained Isaac.

Nick shook his head saying, "So are you, besides, she seems kinda cute."

Isaac stepped up and defensively retorted, "Hey, watch your mouth!"

Nick had to let out a hearty chuckle as he went back in his mind to younger days, "I'll see you tomorrow, kid," he said as he turned and walked away.

Isaac watched Nick all the way with a confused expression clouding his features.

* * *

 **End Notes**

This one is _long_ overdue, I know. I'd meant to finish it before I went on holiday two weeks ago. Instead, I finished it while I was away _and_ wrote most of the next chapter!

For reference, Isaac's mother's name, Āwhina, is a Māori word which, as a noun, means 'support' or 'assistance' et al.


	11. Chapter X: Mixed Lethality

As far as Judy was aware, she hadn't slept at all, and yet she blinked groggily awake in an upright sitting position. In trying to stretch stiff limbs, Judy discovered that her wrists and ankles had been strapped to a chair.

"Those restraints are tear resistant, rated to withstand tiger's teeth, I hear," said the Doctor, who stood nearby.

Judy frowned and watched him. The cat wore a much cleaner outfit today, and stood before a mirror, trimming back the unruly fluff that surrounded his muzzle. The room even smelled better, though still not very pleasant.

Seeing him now, looking far tidier than earlier, Judy realized with a jolt just who this cat was. She felt so foolish, knowing the voice but being unable to match up the face until now.

"Doctor Nikolai Augustus Katzendale, M.D., P.h.D.," she said, taken aback by his presence in this dank place.

Nikolai turned to face her, "So you remember, now."

"I remember that you were the one who figured out NHS! You were a medical hero!"

"Just note your use of the word 'were', indicating _past_ tense," said Nikolai dismissively.

Judy looked down, to the side, all around in disbelief. In doing so, she spotted a tray of empty needles and curious bottles of unknown fluids, right beside her.

"Wha- have you been drugging me? What was in those needles? Answer me!" she demanded.

Nikolai stepped toward her, as he came to a stop, the scent of expensive, top shelf cologne wafted over, "That is none of your concern."

"It's completely my concern! It's my body! My life!" cried Judy.

"Be calm, please. I have a migraine."

"You arrogant bastard! You've been 'missing' for almost two years. Don't tell me you've been here all this time," said Judy, desperately trying to temper the inextricable rage she felt.

"I was confronted by a moral dilemma. Ultimately, my actions lead toward lasting benefits for all."

"By working with Bisonhower? He said himself that he worked with Bellwether and you think that actively helping _him_ is a good idea? Aren't you smarter than that?" cried Judy incredulously.

"Aren't you? Besides, Ezra Bisonhower said himself that he is _not_ a prey supremacist. I still fail to see your point," said Nikolai aloofly.

"He's an extremist! Innocent mammals have died because of him, how many before he's satisfied?"

Nikolai more or less ignored her, saying "Enough talk. I must check on a patient," and walking away.

Judy watched the Doctor approach a heavy door beside the entrance to the corridor. Nikolai gingerly entered numbers into a pin-pad and took a step back. The door, easily four times that cat's height and width, bleeped and rolled open, unleashing a cacophony of animalistic sounds; barking, roaring, growling, and bleating filled the air. An unbearable, thick and noxious cloud of mixed odors swept through the lab.

Nikolai's ears flattened as he crept in, grimacing. Judy could not take her eyes off the door until he returned after several minutes, tensed up and with fur ruffled up all over. He backed into the room with a device in his hand, followed by a mechanized trolley that rattled it's way into the room.

As the trolley turned, Judy saw the contents of the cage that sat on top: A small, bedraggled fennec fox lay still.

Judy called out, "Finnick! Is that you in there?"

The tiny predator groaned and turned over.

"Silence!" hissed Nikolai at Judy, startling the creature in the cage.

The fennec fox whined and stood with an awkward spasm, gaze darting manically everywhere. Judy was certain now that it was Finnick.

"Oh, for God's sake, now you've done it."

Judy ignored the Doctor, yelling, "Finnick! It's me, Judy! Nick's friend!"

Finnick stared at Judy, cocking his head to one side with a sudden twitch. He seemed about to speak, however he collapsed and started screaming manically.

"Gemme outta here," he whimpered, before screaming, "The noises! I can't block out the noises! It's, it's. . . It's all around me!"

"Hey, hey!" said Nikolai, trying to calm the fox, who'd descended to the point of incoherent mumbling and thrashing.

As if she weren't horrified enough, Finnick seemed to calm and his breathing normalized; before giving way to some sort of violent seizure followed by harsh snarling.

On his knees, Finnick cried out, "I've seen it a thousand times, now it's me, oh God!"

Nikolai still had his paws near the cage trying to temper the fox. Now completely savage, Finnick leapt into the side of the cage and slashed at the Doctor's arm.

"Son of a- Shit," grumbled Nikolai, clutching his arm that now dripped blood.

"What have you done to him . . ." murmured Judy.

"Well," started Nikolai, regarding the savage Finnick, "That would not have occurred if you'd kept quiet."

A hard banging on the corridor entrance stunted the conversation. Nikolai walked over, all the while trying to dress his wounds.

"What? What do you want?" he demanded, opening an eye-hole on the front.

On the other side stood a hapless minion, who, upon seeing the Doctor's bloodied arm, said, "Whoa, you need a Doctor, bro. Oh right . . ."

"Never mind that," Nikolai snapped, "what do you want?"

"Oh. Big B wanted me to remind you that tomorrow's the day."

"Ah. I see," said Nikolai, almost sounding defeated.

Nikolai closed the eye slot and trudged over to his desk, where he dejectedly nursed his damaged limb.

"Tomorrow's the day? The day for what?" asked Judy.

"That," started Nikolai, who didn't even look at her, "is also none of your concern."

* * *

Nick hadn't slept at all, not a wink. He simply could not lose consciousness with the thought of Judy being out there, held captive somewhere.

By about eleven O'clock, he'd downed a few mugs of instant coffee and trudged out to town.

When he reached the lunch bar, Nick peered in the window. Sure enough, he saw Isaac, sat at a middle table eating a considerable helping of pancakes.

Nick felt a gust of air as someone rushed past him. He turned and saw Nicole in a mighty hurry.

"Hey," he called out, "Nicole?"

The amber eyed creature turned with a confused expression that quickly switched to recognition when she spotted Nick.

"Well hello again," she said, padding over.

"Hi there. Glad I caught you, 'cause I've just seen Isaac," explained Nick.

"Really!?"

"Yup. He's right in that lunch bar, and he's just itching to talk to you," Nick fibbed.

Nicole had to stifle a gleeful squeak when she spotted Isaac through the window.

"Thank you, erhm. Sorry, what's your name?"

"Oh no, _I'm_ sorry. My name's Jim."

"Thanks again, Jim," said Nicole as she turned away.

Nicole dashed to the door and stopped to take a breath. Having regained composure, she took up a feminine swagger and sat right across from Isaac.

Nick watched through the window as the two interacted. An unforgettable look on Isaac's face that a mask of false confidence quickly covered. Nick knew from experience that this encounter would have Isaac feeling quite nervous. That being said, Nick could tell that Isaac welcomed Nicole's presence.

Nick pushed through the entrance door and sauntered over to Isaac's table just as Nicole stood and started to leave.

"It was so cool seeing you again. See ya later, Izzy," said Nicole in a somewhat reluctant farewell.

Isaac's gaze followed her out the door, then fell upon Nick, forcing a scowl to take over his features.

"Well hello there, _Izzy_. Good to see you!" greeted Nick.

Isaac grumbled, "I _was_ doing just fine until you hurled me in the deep end. And my name is _not_ Izzy!"

"Whatever, kid. You enjoyed it."

"It's bad enough you lie to my mother, but did you really have to lie to her as well?"

Nick sighed and said, "Ideally I'd be completely truthful. But, given the current situation, I don't know who I can trust with my identity."

"Right . . ." said Isaac, skeptically.

"Never mind that now, are we gonna keep hunting for clues or what?"

"Well, I've been thinking about that, have you even got any weapons?" asked Isaac.

"I've been carrying this tranq gun around," said Nick, discreetly revealing the weapon concealed in his coat.

"Whoa. Is that a T96? Cool, got any ammo?"

Nick went quiet.

"I take that as a no. You familiar with the TPs?" asked Isaac.

Nick scoffed, "You mean the lamest excuse for a street gang in existence?"

"Yeah well, since Bisonhower came along, they've been packing heat, if you know what I mean. There turf is bigger now too."

"Hmph. How convenient."

"Yup. Anyway, they seem to hang around West Savanna Central, in the industrial part, know the spot?"

"Yeah, like the back of my paw," remarked Nick.

Isaac paused before saying, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Stakeout, then follow one of those morons right to the cookie jar? Then yes."

Isaac nodded, and so the two departed for the West. An electrical substation marked the divide between the residential and industrial sections of the district. From there, all the pair had to do was find one of the 'TPs'.

TP is a shortening of 'Trash Panda'. These 'Trash Pandas' are composed entirely of raccoons. The name comes from an insult given them by an official during a court case, labeling them as a band of goons and ruffians, or, as he put it, 'trash pandas'. The gang is very proud of this title, believing at as a sign of notoriety and strength.

At times they are described like wayward teenagers as, until recently, they'd be seen armed with baseball bats and perhaps gardening equipment, such as a shovel or hoe.

Hiding beside a decrepit bus shelter, Nick could make out a pair of raccoons in matching greaser outfits. They probably even had flip-out combs. He turned to Isaac and flicked his ears in their direction. Isaac nodded with a serious expression and the two began their stakeout.

A couple of hours of discreet shadowing came to be well worth it, as Isaac and Nick reached a junction where they could see numerous raccoons patrolling in and out of a nearby building.

Said building sat right on the edge of the district, the river between the industrial zone and the Rainforest District lay just behind.

Night had begun to creep up the streets of the city. Nick turned to Isaac, the cat's eyes darted all around and he seemed incredibly tense even for a mammal his size.

"These guys have been pretty active during the day, who knows how much busier they'll get as the moon rises," said Nick idly.

Isaac said nothing.

"Come on, let's see what we can find," said Nick.

Isaac nodded and warily said "Okay."

Nick darted across to the building as soon as the patrols broke up, Isaac followed as close as his legs would allow, panting all the way. Nick crept in the front door and followed his nose to a sort of dead-end hallway. At the far end sat a bench and behind that, a crate right up against the wall.

Stepping close to the box, Nick said, "This crate looks very new. What say we take a look inside?"

"Uh, okay," Isaac.

Nick lifted the lid quietly and peeked inside; metal boxes, tools and thingie-doofers filled the crate to the brim. Nick pushed it open all the way and started to rummage. Isaac tip-toed up, and seeing the crate's contents, skipped like a kitten to get a better look.

"Hey, fox! Look, T96 clips," said the cat, gleefully holding up little trays of darts.

"T96 is what I have right? Pass them here."

Isaac looked in again and frowned. He reached as far as he could and pulled out a long spring-loaded box full of brass casings. He popped one out to have a closer look.

"Hey, uh, Nick? This is a bullet."

Nick stopped and looked at the little lead-capped cartridge and frowned, "Yes?"

"As in, a lethal projectile," said Isaac, beginning to sound wary again.

Nick took the bullet and tossed it away, "Relax. They're for hunting birds, I'm sure of it."

A moment later, thunderous banging and bright flashes filled the corridor, supersonic projectiles ripped up the ground and walls around Isaac and Nick. As the two took cover behind a bench, they could only catch a glimpse of the source.

"Bullets!" yelped Isaac, "real bullets fired out of real guns!"

Nick could barely make out his voice over the clattering.

"Holy shit! We're gonna die, fox! They're g-going to kill us!" cried Isaac.

The banging and flashes gave way to a voice grumbling, followed by metal clicking and clacking.

Not even sure how _he_ was coping, Nick put his paws on Isaac's shoulders, "We are still alive. Stay calm, as a good friend has taught me, there is _always_ a way out."

"Aight, punks. Come out, all of youse. Paws where I can see em'!"

The fox and cat wordlessly complied, standing up from behind the bench. Three very serious looking raccoons stood in the entrance to the corridor.

Nick took a cautious step toward them saying, "Okay. It's just us two back here. We were just being a little nosy. So how about you point the gun someplace else, look the other way, and you'll never see us ever again."

"That's close enough, Jack!" yelled the main raccoon, pointing his weapon right at Nick's head, adding, "I say what's what, not you, bucko."

A fourth raccoon appeared at the doorway, saying, "What's goin' on, I'm tryin' to sleep you big palookas!"

Then he saw Isaac.

"Katzendale," said the fourth raccoon, pushing his way past the other three.

"Oh, hi Ivan. I was actually just about to bring you the rest of the money for the car but I-"

Ivan cut him off, sneering, "Left it at home? That's just fine. Me and the boys will just pay Mammie a visit, I'm sure she can get it for us."

"The boys and _I,_ " yelled Isaac.

Ivan rushed forward and pinned the young cat to a wall, the others followed and surrounded Nick.

"Hey, you let him go!" Nick demanded.

"Or what, tough guy?" sneered Ivan.

"Or I bring the full force of the law down on your sorry ass."

"Excuse me?" said the gun-toting raccoon.

Nick stood confidently and said, "My name is Nicholas P. Wilde, an officer of the Zootopia Police Department."

All four raccoons broke down into a cacophony of awful cackling and laughter that Nick wasn't sure how to process.

"What if he is though?" asked one.

The others immediately stopped laughing and looked Nick in the eye, the gun once again aimed at his head.

Isaac quietly said, "He's not."

"What did you say, Katzendale?"

"I said, he's not Officer Wilde. He's just some mook I met on the street. He wanted some good stuff, I told him I might know where to find it," explained Isaac.

"Just some mook, eh? What's his name then, smartypants?" asked Ivan.

"Jim Kirk."

After a sort of obtuse and one-sided staring contest, Ivan let go of Isaac and stepped back. As if in response, the gun lowered away from Nick.

"Aight then. I'll look the other way and you two'll scram. And that's only 'cause the boss don't want us hassling ordinary folk."

Nick and Isaac walked uneasily out of the Trash Pandas' meeting place, aware of the raccoons' harsh glaring. The two walked quietly and calmly back the way they had come, all the way through the industrial sector. Neither spoke until they returned to Isaac's car.

After fastening his seatbelt, Isaac said, "I honestly didn't think we'd get out of there alive."

"It's like I said," started Nick, "there is _always_ a way out. Thanks, by the way."

"For what?"

"For sticking your neck out like that. A bold strategy, but to be sure, it paid off," explained Nick thoughtfully.

Isaac said nothing, he just pulled away from the kerb and drove through the quiet streets.

"You hungry?" asked Isaac.

Nick's stomach responded with a growl before the fox could open his mouth.

"Alrighty. My treat."

"Oh no, you don't have to do that," said Nick.

"I insist."

Isaac grew disheartened as every Bug-Burga in town had been closed due to 'civil unrest'. At this time of night, just about everybody had gone to bed by now. After a while, at Nick's behest, Isaac conceded to getting cheap takeout.

"Sorry I couldn't get anything nicer…" Isaac lamented, finishing his last morsel.

"Don't worry about it. After today, and at this hour, food is food. Even if it is greasy, lukewarm and cost less than the box it came in," said Nick, shrugging.

The car's occupants sat in silence for a while.

After a while, Nick turned to Isaac and asked him, "How did you know your bluff would work?"

"I didn't. It was a _bluff_ after all. I was _terrified_. I don't think I've ever been more scared in my entire life, It's just as well those guys are as thick as two short planks."

"Nobody seems to recognize me… I-I just don't get it," said Nick, thinking out loud.

"Well, you know everybody, right? That's what I hear about you."

"Yeah, for sure."

"Then I guess, just because you know everybody, that doesn't mean everybody knows you. But me? Heaps of people know me. Yet I wonder, how many of them actually care about anything I do?" Isaac mused.

Nick thought for a moment before saying, "Tell you what, when this over, when we're done, _I'll_ care."

"Wh-what?" asked Isaac, tipping his fuzzy face to one side.

"I said, I'll be your friend. And by God, it won't stop there, I know heaps of mammals who will love you to bits. Like uh, my buddy Ben. You two will get on like a house on fire, I just know it."

Isaac looked down, mulling things over, before looking back at Nick, "You'd _really_ do all that, for _me?_ "

"Of course, I promise."

Isaac seemed to ponder over this for a while. A grin spread across his round mug.

"I can see the headline now; Nick Wilde," started the cat, "big bad fox copper. Turns out to be biggest softie ever."

"Guilty as charged," Nick said.

Isaac dropped Nick off by the Grand Pangolin Arms. Both predators hesitated to leave.

"Tomorrow's the day," said Nick, climbing out of the coupe.

"Indeed. See you then."

Nick nodded to Isaac who nodded back. The fox climbed the steps slowly and deliberately and kept looking back toward the car. Before Nick entered the building proper, He gave Isaac one last wave and the cat drove away into the night.

Laying back on Judy's sofa, Nick contemplated the day's events. He didn't even get up to the part with the raccoons before he fell fast asleep.

* * *

 **End Notes**

Whew. I can't believe how far I've come with this.


	12. Chapter XI: Two Betrayals

Judy _attempted_ to watch Nikolai the whole night. She figured she must've dozed off pretty early as he seemed to have vanished.

The repugnant stench of cheap spirits, much stronger than even the other day, hung in the air. A dreary groan drew the rabbit's attention to a crumpled heap in a lab coat.

"Doctor? Dr Katzendale?" called Judy, warily.

Another wordless groan.

"Nikolai, are you okay?"

The sorry looking creature rolled over and gradually stood up. Unsteady and leaning on a nearby pillar, Nikolai adjusted his glasses to see Judy.

"J-Judith?" he asked, slurring.

"Yup. It's me, I'm right here," she said.

Nikolai sniffed and shook his head, saying "Not for much longer…"

"What are you talking about?" asked Judy, striving as hard as she could to speak gently.

The Doctor hobbled over and kneeled beside the chair Judy _still_ sat in. Then the cat started to cry.

"I… I tried to reason with him, but he just won't have it!" cried Nikolai.

"Who? Who won't have it?"

"Ezra!" he wailed, "I was a mere pawstep from greatness, and he stole it all away!"

"Stole what?" plied Judy.

"It doesn't matter. You wouldn't care anyway. You didn't care before," said Nikolai, dismissively.

"Well," said Judy, trying to figure out when 'before' actually was, "I care now, and I'm listening now."

The cat doctor stopped at looked up at Judy, "R-really?" he asked, sheepishly.

Judy nodded calmly with a forced smile.

Nikolai stood slowly, then looked Judy in the eye and prodded her forehead, saying "This! In here," he paused and pointed at his own head, "And this, are the same! All of us have the same brains!"

Judy didn't know what else to say. Nikolai took a step back and once again gave way to weeping.

"I could've have proved it, academically! But now…" he lamented, slumping down against a wall.

"Why?" asked Judy. "Why did you agree to this?"

Nikolai sniffled, "I didn't want to. But if I didn't, there would've been another! I thought that, maybe, if I agreed, then I could have some control! I had no choice!"

"There's always a choice!"

"I don't think so, you see, my mother, she is deathly ill. And my brother, my baby brother. He's smart, helpful, but so naive!"

Before Judy could ask any more questions, the door to the lab swung open. Ezra Bisonhower himself entered with an authoritative strut, as usual, armed thugs accompanied him.

Nikolai stood again and started wobbling toward him, "Ezra, I'm so glad you're here. You see, I was really hoping that maybe…"

"Dr Katzendale, please. I can see, or rather I can _smell_ that you are not in a fit state for discussion," said Ezra, directing his henchmammals with an adroit wave.

Ezra's companions nodded and began to approach Judy with zip ties drawn. Already strapped to a chair, she could do nothing to stop them from restraining and dragging her away.

Ezra began to follow his minions to the door, Nikolai however, stumbled between them and grovelled before him.

"Please, Ezra," started the cat.

Bisonhower frowned, "Doctor Katzendale, we have discussed this already. Get out of my way."

"I-I know that, but you see, you are nothing if not reasonable," said Nikolai, tugging on the Bison's garments.

"I said no!" roared Bisonhower, as he seized Nikolai by the throat with one cloven hoof.

Ezra's followers stood by and watched, bemused. Tightly bound zip ties forced Judy to do the same.

"Now," started Ezra, and as he effortlessly tossed Nikolai across the room he bellowed: " _I said get out of my way!_ "

"Doctor Katzendale, no!" cried Judy as the feline tumbled over and over. She tried to wriggle free, but still weak, she could not.

Ezra Bisonhower cleared his throat and straightened his suit; "Forget about him, Ms Hopps. He was a tool, and has fulfilled his purpose. Today is the day for you to fulfill yours.

* * *

Pleased with having caught some Zs during the night, Nick Wilde set a decent pace down the steps of the Grand Pangolin Arms. A horn's toot from below drew Nick's eye to the street - Isaac had already arrived, waiting for Nick with a slight grin.

"Can't wait?" said Nick, seating himself in the passenger side of Isaac's coupe.

"Well, today _is_ the day," said Isaac as he pulled away from the kerb.

"It is indeed."

"We're headed North out of town, right?" asked Isaac.

"Uh, yeah."

After some quiet traversing of city streets, Isaac's deeply thoughtful expression gave way to speech; "So what is the actual plan when we get there?"

"Hm?"

"That is to say, hypothetically, if we were like, around the corner, what'd be our next step?"

"Hmph," started Nick, "first I'd get the lay of the land, so to speak. Then I'd find a way in, quick and quiet."

"All by yourself?"

"At first, yeah. You know Judy Hopps?"

Isaac frowned, "Yes… We've met."

"Ezra wanted her out of the picture, but also alive. My gut tells me that wherever _he_ is, _she_ can't be far away."

Isaac said nothing, he just kept watching straight ahead, staring into the road.

"I can't shake the feeling that time is running out. That is exactly why I _have_ to find his hideout. I need to get Judy out of there before it's too late!" exposited Nick, desperately curbing his emotion.

"So, you're saying it's all about the rabbit, that is, everything we've done until now."

"At face value, I guess so."

Isaac didn't say another word until they had reached the road leading North out of the meadowlands district.

"Is something wrong?" asked Nick.

"No, it's just…"

"Come on, you can tell me," said the fox, trying to be reassuring.

"There's this rumour, about an old building upriver from the city. Some disused hospital. It's called cliff -something. Cliffside! It's called Cliffside," explained Isaac.

"Oh my god. Why didn't I think of it before? Yes, I heard that it was being converted into a hydro-electric plant. That's a perfect front!"

"So…"

"Go!" cried Nick, "go cat! Go, go, go!"

Isaac sped away as fast as legally possible. Nick's guidance on good shortcuts made it a quick trip.

Nick tapped frantically on Isaac's shoulder; "hey, stop, stop, stop."

"Wh-what is it?" asked Isaac, pulling over with a muddy skid.

"Alright, the front gate is just over that rise," said Nick, opening his door and clambering out, he added, "pass me the tranq."

Isaac huffed, "You really insist on playing lone wolf? I mean, isn't that why i'm here?"

Nick leant in and put a paw on the young tom's shoulder; "This trip has already put you in harm's way once. If anything were to happen to you…"

"I can handle it!"

"...It's not that simple, Isaac. Besides, it could get _really_ ugly in there. I need you here. In case I need a quick getaway."

Isaac resentfully passed Nick the tranquilizer saying, "Good luck, fox. You are going to need it."

As he began to step away, Nick said, "I'll be twenty minutes, tops."

"And if you're not?"

"Hundred feet down the road is the river access, wait for me there."

* * *

Nick made it all the way past the security checkpoint and across the road-bridge to Cliffside undetected - though there didn't actually seem to be anybody around to detect him. An unattended forklift and tarpaulin-covered equipment lay near the grandly drab entrance to the old asylum.

Nick entered through the same drain pipe he and Judy used two years earlier and even came up into the same rotunda. Unused work lights and piles of building materials stood in place of the old hospital cots that had been there last time.

Tranquilizer drawn, Nick approached the now empty doorway that led to the room that _was_ used as a lab by Dr Madge Honeybadger. In place of a damp, mixed chemical scent, the rooms smelled of sawdust, caulk and plaster.

The overcast weather outside filtered dim, grey light through the interior of the complex. Tools, bundles of cabling and discarded construction rubbish littered every corridor Nick traversed. A fine layer of dust - along with the eerie quiet - made it _abundantly_ clear that no one had been here in some time.

Nick came to a stop in a relatively untouched hallway and eased off a tad, ' _Oh well,'_ he thought to himself.

A quiet rustle behind just about gave Nick a heart attack. Nick's eyes darted.

' _Must've been the wind… But, inside?'_

Nick advanced cautiously, checking every corner. More rustling gave away the presence of multiple others in the ghostly institution. Blood roared in Nick's ears, he crept low to the ground and his claws threatened to tug on his weapon's trigger with every beat of his tense heart.

Turning a corner and seeing a paw disappear behind a door frame had Nick lurch backward and hide behind a pillar. Looking ahead, Nick saw the front entrance to Cliffside, wide open, and not a soul in sight.

Nick sprinted for that door with all the swiftness nature gave him. Although, no amount of speed could have stopped the thug who waited just outside from putting an arm out at just the right height to clothesline the eager fox.

Dazed and surrounded, Nick lay defeated.

"You got him! That was even easier than he said it would be," said a gruff voice before a goat came and stood over him.

A nearby cheetah grunted nonchalantly.

"What about the kid?" asked the goat.

The cheetah answered: "That pitiful excuse for a feline has done his part. The boss doesn't need him anymore."

Nick's mind became impenetrably clouded with many despairing thoughts:

 _Isaac set me up?_ _How could I let this happen?_

 _I was so blind._

 _What if I had let him come with me?_ _Would that have made a difference?_

 _I'm sorry, Carrots._ _I failed._

 _I'm so sorry._

* * *

Isaac's face carried a vacant expression all the way from Cliffside to a dated looking structure North West of the city. An old hydro-electric plant built in in the 1950s, Ezra Bisonhower moved in and converted it for his own use, calling it a 'Bastion of Freedom'.

As the cat pulled up outside, one of Ezra's numerous 'liberation transports', or simply, unmarked black vans, rolled up. Thugs exited the back carrying the semi-conscious Nick Wilde in tow. Isaac hesitantly followed them into the facility.

Halfway down a hallway, Nick perked up a tad and took in his surroundings. He near immediately spotted spotted Isaac and bared his teeth.

"I was foolish to trust you."

"Yes. You were, I had no choice. I actually thought I could trust _you_. You, and all your empty promises!"

"Isaac, please! Those weren't empty promises! There is always a choice!" cried Nick.

"I've had enough. Take this slime to his precious rabbit!" commanded the young tomcat.

The cheetah pulling Nick stopped and frowned at Isaac, "Who exactly do you think you are? You're not special, kid. Go back to your playpen."

Isaac stood and watched Nick be taken away before leaving himself, to report to Ezra. A short traipse through some drab corridors brought Isaac to the room from which Bisonhower called the shots. The well-dressed Bison himself sat in the center of the room in Chief Bogo's swivel chair that he stole, personally.

Seeing Isaac, he said, "Oh, you're back? Well, I had heard that Mr Wilde is indeed in our custody."

"Yes. I did exactly as you asked."

Ezra glanced this way and that before addressing Isaac again; "Y-yes. Excellent work, my boy."

Isaac still didn't leave.

The bison huffed quietly then explained, "Look, I'm not getting anything from this. What is it that you want from me?"

"Well, you said," started Isaac nervously, "you said you'd help me find my brother."

"Well, I must admit I am in somewhat of an unpleasant situation: I may have stretched the truth as to my knowledge of Doctor Katzendale's whereabouts."

 _Visible confusion_.

"You see, Doctor Katzendale and I have been working together for some time. I felt that if you knew his situation in detail, the ensuing collaboration could have wrought havoc with everything we've been fighting to build!"

"So... Everything you've had me do," started Isaac again.

Ezra finished Isaac's sentence and resumed explaining: "Was to keep you busy, but not without purpose! I apologize in advance for such... Glaring honesty, however I must be clear - Mr Wilde was superfluous. And you did an excellent job at keeping it that way with your mundane defects. This was more or less, for the same reason as my withholding of the 'truth' as you would perceive it."

The young cat silently turned and began to trudge away.

"Oh, my son. Do cheer up! The show is about to start, and an excellent show it will be. You see, the common animal merely wishes to live in peace. That could be _considerably_ easier if the 'heroes' of society, their meddlesome 'civil servant' drones, and countless others were not present. And so, on this very day, in front of a captive, public audience, these so called heroes shall serve as an example. They will be brought to justice," explained Ezra with a theatrical pump of his fist.

"Brought to justice? So, you, you're going to-"

"Have them killed. They are to be executed. It's grim and I'd prefer any alternative were it only possible. At least I can rest easy as after today, there shall be no one mammal who'd dare stand against the unyielding tide of _progress_."

Isaac turned away in horror.

 _What have I done?_

 _Nick could have stopped this._

 _I let him walk into a trap..._

 _They're not dead yet. It's not over until it's over!_

The feline zipped through hallways to reach a little-used corner office. Checking the surrounding area was clear, Isaac picked up a landline phone and punched in a number. After a painful delay, a voice crackled through the receiver:

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Am I speaking to the police?" asked Isaac.

"This is police Chief Bogo speaking. I ask again, who is this?" responded the voice, however this time far sterner.

"Perfect. I'll keep it brief. My name is Isaac Horatio Katzendale Jr. and I'm at the Meadows West hydro-plant. If you want to hit Bisonhower where it hurts, listen up."

* * *

 **End Notes**

The entire last segment originally played out quite different. At first, Isaac's betrayal of Nick was for more _direct_ , that is, he was to tranq Nick and present him personally however it makes more sense for him to be merely involved.

It was kinda fun revisiting Cliffside if a little briefly, I think it's quite an underappreciated locale from the _Zootopia_ world.

Chapter name is _yet another reference_ , but this time to Halo CE's eighth level.


	13. Chapter XII: Hydroelectric Nightmares

_I wish I could have had this up sooner, however the world's been a little crazy, that and I grew dissatisfied with how I originally wanted this chapter to finish up so I needed to re-plan._

* * *

"Look, I get you're not a very conversational guy - I'm not either - but you could at least _try_ ," lamented a middle-aged arctic fox with a hoarse voice.

A timberwolf in full BDU eyed him a while before replying; "In two weeks, you have yet to speak of anything that interests me one iota."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that the dramatic increase of arms contracts over the past five fiscal years just 'isn't relevant'. Geez Louise."

Before their already stunted conversation could regress any further, a junior officer of the Continental Defense Force burst in, panting heavily.

After recovering his breath, he declared: "Major Pearce? Sir. Colonel Broadhoof needs to see you immediately. Mr Watterson? The Colonel has requested your presence also.

The Major stood quickly and marched away. Watterson took his time, at least until a sharp look from the Major spurred him on.

A uniformed Colt watched Pearce and Watterson enter with anticipation.

"You summoned us, sir?" said Pearce.

"Indeed. We received a call from a 'Chief Bogo' requesting immediate deployment to the city of Zootopia."

"Is that all…?" questioned Pearce.

"No. As you know I've been pushing for that very action however I'm always told 'we don't have enough intel, et cetera," explained the Colonel.

Watterson stepped forward, "Well, I presume you didn't call us in just to tell us the status quo - what's actually happening? More importantly, what does it have to do with _me?_ "

"Bogo received a tip-off right before he called-"

"Let me guess, anonymous?" asked Watterson.

"Quite the contrary," the Colonel began, "The tip-off began with a full name, location and a myriad of other details. Very _specific_ details. _Obsessive_ details."

"The fuck does that mean?" blurted Pearce, frustrated with the needless formalities of discussion.

"It means the general has approved a surgical strike, and Major, I want you at the head. Get your teams geared up, then gather at the helipads for immediate deployment. Tranquilizers, lethal sidearm only if you feel it's absolutely necessary."

Pearce threw up a salute and nodded curtly, "Right away sir."

The timberwolf deftly pivoted and stormed in the direction of the barracks. Watterson turned back toward the Colonel with an expectant look.

"Walk with me, Watterson," said Colonel Broadhoof, leading the way out of his office.

"Mr Watterson, it is my understanding that you have a considerable number from your company's corporate security division staying on base, is that correct?" enquired the officer.

"Yes. Training exercises for deploying with and/or from the new XD-18 Ornithopters," explained the businessfox, jogging to keep up with the uniformed horse.

"Look, you're a civilian so _technically_ I can't order you to do anything. Nevertheless I must ask for your support. Your security teams come _highly_ recommended by companies in North and South Continentia, Polarus, the PRA, Prussania, and even the Outback territories down toward the Purrcific..."

Watterson briefly sighed before saying, "I know what you're about to ask, I think. And were it so easy, of course! But there'd be a veritable _mountain_ of paperwork and, superficial as it sounds, _WattSec_ isn't a charity. Hazard pay is kind of a thing-"

"Yes, yes, I understand. Leave that to the government. After all, it's all the General's idea. Another thing, Those Orni-whats-its-"

"Orni- _thopters_?"

"Y-yes. Those. Are they fast?"

"Well we haven't exactly run an airspeed test but once the onboard jets are in cruise configuration it's rated to be up there with any other jet-propelled aircraft…"

"Excellent. I need all of them ready for liftoff in five minutes."

The CEO stood, flabbergasted, "B-but Colonel, they're prototypes, un-weaponized, held together with bird-shit welds-"

Broadhoof cut him off again: "You've been the CEO of your father's company for what, twenty years? This is a lucrative opportunity. If those fliers can do this, I almost guarantee the CDF will snap em' up quick as you can build' em'!"

Profit didn't concern Walden Watterson, safety did. Even so, he simply could not resist the opportunity to show off the true capabilities of the _Watterson Advanced Mechatronics Ornithopter XD-18._

"I'll notify the pilots. Oh, and my security teams."

Broadhoof nodded with approval, only just hiding the dread of future paperwork filing that would inevitably bite him on the ass.

* * *

Judy Hopps grunted as one of Ezra Bisonhower's thugs shoved her into a primitive holding cell. Catching her breath, the rabbit picked herself up off the cold floor.

A Mediterranean voice emerged from the shadows; "Judy, is that you my dear?"

"M-Mr Big?" asked Judy, warily.

"Yes my dear," said the voice, drawing Judy's eye to a tiny cage next to the door.

Judy crept toward him and knelt on one knee, "Oh God, how long have they kept you like this?"

The shrew shook his head, "About as long as you've been here. And, speaking of, you look unwell…"

"I… I'm fine."

A nearby scuffle drew their attention. A cheetah and goat approached the cell dragging a very unhappy fox.

"You bastards! Let me go!" he cried.

The two thugs said nothing as they rolled the vulpine into the cell with little remorse.

Nick Wilde leapt to his feet and lashed out at the cell door, yelling out insults of all kinds before turning over and slumping against the door.

"I'm sorry, Carrots. I tried but… I wasn't good enough," said Nick forlornly.

Judy had to ask: "Not good enough for what?"

"To save you. Bring you home. Wait… Judy?"

"Yes Nick, it's me," she said.

"Judy!" cried Nick as he caught sight of her beside him.

The fox stood and looked her over, "is it really you?"

He knelt and held her cheek in one paw and smiled.

"It _is_ you," he said, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight.

"It _is_ me."

"A sweet reunion. If only it were under better circumstances," said Mr Big.

"Mr Big is here too? Since when?" asked Nick.

"When your Chief Bogo was taking back your headquarters, I was forced to call off my bears to save my Fru Fru."

"That explains a lot," said Nick, casually.

"They held her to ransom. They imprisoned me here for… Insurance," explained the shrew.

Nick sat down and lent on a wall. Not long after, Judy sat beside him.

"I don't suppose you have an escape plan?" asked Judy.

"Well… I did. But that was before a degenerate led me into a trap," explained the fox.

"What do you mean _degenerate_?" asked Judy before adding, "what on Earth has gone on the past few days?"

Nick sighed, "Remember that feline we 'met' at the bar in Savanna Central?"

"Vaguely…"

"Yeah well, I did a _Judy Hopps_ and 'influenced' him into helping me out. Things seemed to be going pretty well, I actually thought the kid and I would get along."

"But now you're here," commented Judy.

"Yes, and it's all because… Because of _him_ ," said Nick, with a distinct note of anger.

Nick stood and paced with frustration, grumbling under his breath.

Nick ranted; "Every damn time. I can't even count on my paws anymore, the times I've started to genuinely care for someone's well being just to get hurt!"

Judy stood up and held Nick's arm, saying, "Hey, it's okay."

Nick gently shook her off, "No, it's not. Trust gets built but as soon as I turn around, there's a knife in my back. You know what? If we get out of this, if that _punk_ shows his face to me… I… I'm gonna kill him."

Judy grabbed hold of him more firmly this time; "Nick, please! Don't say things like that. That's not you."

Nick let his shoulders drop and felt his eyes well up a little, "Your right, Carrots. I just…"

Mr Big interjected, "This is most certainly a predicament and we all rightly feel the pressure."

The three sat in silence once more.

"Well, I have one last idea. We do the movie thing and swarm the guards when they come in," explained Nick.

Silence from both Judy and Mr Big.

"I-I know it's not much but," Nick said, pausing when he noticed he'd lost all attention, "erh, guys? What are you looking at?"

The fox stood beside Judy and peered through the bars; Isaac Katzendale could be seen interacting with the sheep guard posted by the entrance to the room. The cat held a clenched fist behind his back.

"Look kid, you're what, 2 feet tall? And you expect me to believe Ezra himself sent _you_ to take over guarding his most prized hostages? Get bent." Growled the ram.

"For starters, I'm 3'1". And secondly," Isaac paused and his face turned to one of absolute horror as he cried out: "Oh my God, _what the hell is that!_ "

The sheep whipped around, raising his weapon, in the same moment, Isaac leapt up and clung onto the creature's neck wool. He brought his other paw up and held a rag over the ram's face. With a few seconds of bewildered struggling, the sheep crumpled over, Isaac lightly dismounting at the last moment.

"Oh shit," muttered Isaac, backing away and taking in what he'd just done.

He stepped forward and took the ram's keys before panting over to the holding cell. Reaching it, he stopped to catch his breath.

"Yikes! Yikes, yikes forever."

The cat drew a sharp breath and freed Ezra's captives, none of which took their eyes off him for a single heartbeat.

"Come on, all of you, follow me. We have to get the-"

Isaac only got part-way through his sentence before Nick, calling on his police academy training and years on the street, spear-tackled Isaac to the ground, pinning him by his shoulders and throwing a left hook into the cat's cheek.

Judy cried, "Nick, stop! He just set us free!"

The rage drained from Nick and his teeth hid behind his lips. The fox stood dejectedly and stepped back from Isaac, who picked himself up, holding his jaw sorely.

Isaac said to Judy, "N-no, it's alright. I deserved that. It's a guy thing, you wouldn't get it."

"Believe me, I get it all too well. Your name is Kenny, right?"

"It's Isaac actually."

"At this point, I don't care if your name's Hitler. Do you know the way out of here?" asked Judy.

Isaac simply nodded as he wiped a drop of blood from his lip.

Judy knelt and freed Mr Big, placing him on her shoulder, to which he said, "Thank you my dear."

Nick still stood a distance away from the others, particularly Isaac. Mr Big lightly tugged at Judy's fur and indicated to move closer to Nick.

Judy appealed to the fox first, "We don't have a lot of options right now."

When Nick didn't react, Mr Big gave it a try: "Nicky, we stand here, already in the clutches of our enemy. I ask you, what could the boy possibly gain from betraying you a second time?"

Nick Wilde huffed and sauntered over to Isaac, a stern expression fixed on his face. The young cat dared not look away, despite the tears forming in his eyes.

"I'm not asking for forgiveness," said Isaac.

"Just as well," started Nick, "Alright. I'm going to give you _one_ more _single_ chance. But there is one _very_ important condition."

"Anything! Just name it, Nick. I swear I'll do it," declared Isaac desperately.

"You must allow me the exclusive right, if and whensoever I please, to refer to you by the moniker 'Izzy', now and to forever. Additionally, you _must_ respond promptly." explained Nick, keeping his brow sternly furrowed and his voice firm.

Isaac frowned in confusion. The young cat understood the situation once he saw Judy's face turn from expectancy to bemused anticipation.

"Deal! At any rate I'll take anything over _Iggles_ ," said Isaac, with a slight, nervous smile.

"Hold on there, puddy tat, I never said 'Iggles' was excluded."

The cat prepared to argue but thought better of it. He took off down a hallway and called out, "This way!"

Mr Big clung onto Judy's collar as she and Nick raced after Isaac. As they approached the far end, Isaac turned and pointed down an adjacent corridor with a faded exit sign hanging from it's entrance.

"Down here. Like, forty paces and we're home free," explained Isaac.

Recalling the sheep from earlier, Nick had to ask: "Hey, uh, what was on that rag?"

"A funky little mixture I know. It's pretty much chloroform," Isaac explained between huffs and puffs.

"Well okay then. Where did you pick that up?"

"When you're kid brother to one of the most brilliant medical researchers alive, you pick up a thing or two."

Judy stopped jogging, "Hold it. Are you talking about _Dr Nikolai Katzendale?"_

Isaac stopped and turned to the rabbit, "Yes… Why?"

"He's here. He always has been! We can't leave without him," explained Judy.

Isaac hesitated.

"If I could interject here," started Nick with veiled nervousness, "perhaps we should take a step back and remember where we are."

Mr Big added; "Indeed. We can return for the cat's brother when we have numbers on our side."

Isaac took on a look of determination as he said, "It'll be too late then. Rabbit, do you know exactly where he might be?"

The rabbit said nothing as she looked this way and that, her ears shooting up straight when she spotted the corridor she'd been dragged through earlier. Needing no further encouragement, Isaac dashed down the hall and pushed through the metal door, followed by Judy. Nick cursed and said "Oh what the Hell," before making his way after them.

Abandoning all sense of stealth, Isaac called out, "Niko! Are you here?"

Judy spotted a figure slumped against the far wall, "Isaac, I-I think he's over there!"

Isaac hurried over and knelt beside his older brother. He felt for a pulse and listened for breathing just the way he'd been taught. Watching from a short distance, Nick could see the resemblance. Despite having very different pelts and builds, the two brothers had the same face.

Nikolai frowned and his paw came up to swat at the limb pressing on his throat, "What in the blazes... Get off!

"You with us, Niko?" asked Isaac.

"Yes! for God's sake… Wait, Isaac? Judith?"

"Yes, we're here!" cried Judy.

Nikolai mumbled with agitation, "No. No, no. You have to go. All of you…"

"I'm not leaving without my brother!" said Isaac as he started maneuvering to lift Nikolai.

The Doctor pushed him away, "No, I said go! As soon as Ezra finds out Judith is missing, this is the first place he'll look!"

"He's right, you know," came a voice from the entrance to the room.

Ezra Bisonhower stood, in his usual white suit and his face adorned with the slight, smug smile of a Bond villain all set to monologue.

The cat, fox, rabbit and shrew all cursed in unison as they turned about.

Ezra chuckled, somehow managing to simultaneously sound disappointed, "Oh so predictable. I knew neither Hopps' dear little compassionate heart nor young Isaac could bear to leave Dr Kitty behind."

"We're not afraid of you, Bisonhower!" Declared Isaac, shakily.

"Oh, ho ho. Speak for yourself, my boy. Do you think it's a mere coincidence that Ivan let you go? For what it's worth, the hapless fool _did_ fall for your bluff."

"For you see, Ivan is just chafing at the bit for your debt to be paid - I told him he'll just have to wait. And he will wait until he dies."

"Let me guess, by your paw?" quizzed Nick.

"Indeed… Unless they change, he and his clan of vagabonds, being incompatible with my vision, must be done away with as soon as their usefulness runs dry - a time that is fast approaching. But in the interim I must be clear: Your execution is nothing personal, merely a cleverly demonstrative way of taking out two most troublesome birds with a flurry of lead stones. Why? Because then, (ideally) all the other little birds will stop tweeting so we may live in peace."

"I don't want to hear any more. Come on, we can take him!" declared Isaac triumphantly.

"Not so fast, my boy," said Ezra as he drew an odd looking weapon from behind his back.

Everyone but Isaac instantly recognized the strange firearm and tried to step back only to find themselves stuck against the wall.

Isaac turned back in bewilderment, "It's only a tranquilizer," he said.

Another chuckle from Bisonhower, "Ms Hopps, if you please, edify young Isaac."

"Th-that's the gun that was used to dart predators with psychotropic toxins two years ago," explained Judy in a low, solemn voice.

"I did always want to see it. Careful what you wish for I guess," Isaac commented.

"Getting it out of the evidence lockup was beyond _easy_. As for ammunition, you can thank your brother for producing many 'samples' after perfecting Doug's distillation method."

"It-it's not what it seems to be," murmured Nikolai in defensively.

"It isn't? Well what about your 'research'? For reference, I'm talking about all your unethical little _experiments_ ," sneered Ezra, "unless you can tell me _why_ no respectable mammal of science would fund you."

"It's because-" started Nikolai.

Ezra bellowed, "It's because you're a sleazy hack!"

Judy took a bold step forward and said, "That's enough!"

From his low angle view, Nikolai saw Ezra shudder and take a few small steps backward upon being challenged by the rabbit. For him, time slowed to a crawl and a single clear thought took his whole mind: " _Yes... Of course. That's why he came for her._ "

The bison held his weapon level with Judy's head and said, "You stay back now, remember which of us is armed!"

Judy stepped forward, saying, "Or what? You're going to make me savage?"

"No. You're right. That wouldn't do. Come now Ezra, don't be afraid! She's just a rabbit," mumbled the once intimidating bison.

Nikolai pulled himself to his paws and stood. He exchanged glances with Isaac and Nick before once again fixing his eyes on Ezra Bisonhower.

Ezra wrangled his tie aggressively and bellowed: "I heard the reports! I read the papers! I know what went down in the museum that day! Dawn fucked up. But I won't. I'll do what she could not!"

Judy challenged him again, "Do what?!"

"Oh ho, wait and see! There's no bandana this time, no produce. No bait-and-switch. The fox gets it!" roared Ezra as he switched his aim to Nick Wilde.

Nikolai gasped. Now or never, this is the moment, his chance to fix it all even if it meant his life, "It's not him you should be aiming for!" he cried making a break for a panel a few feet from where he stood.

"Why, you insufferable twat," grumbled Ezra as he switched targets yet again to fire off rounds at Nikolai.

Only one of the three pellets hit it's mark on the cat's cheek, knocking his glasses from his face and sending the already unsteady mammal stumbling over. Now a foot from the wall panel, Niko reached out and pulled down on the manual release valve for the ceiling sprinklers as he collapsed on the floor.

Judy and Isaac cried out in unison and with a paw on each of their shoulders, Nick held them back as the fire sprinklers cracked open, dousing the room's inhabitants.

"All that fuss and yet the only thing you've managed to ruin is my favorite suit," complained Ezra, unaware of the heavy roller door creaking open beside him.

The door to the lab's holding cells stopped rolling with a heavy thud and the sound of cages unlocking drew Ezra's attention to the dark maw to his left.

The dart gun dropped from his cloven hoof. As a cacophony of crazed mammals thundered toward him, he muttered under his breath: "You clever bastard."

Herding prey ran into him, toppling his bulky frame. Predators came next, lashing at his flesh as they stumbled over him to seek escape from their confinement.

Nick Wilde turned Judy and Isaac away from Ezra's mutilation, holding them both close. As if there called for one last punishment, Bisonhower's screams of agony turned to a quiet gurgle as a lone rhino crashed out of the corridor and trampled him.

* * *

 **End Notes**

 _What takes place here was originally crammed into one chapter. As I got into it, I realized it was too much and had to split it just like_ Unfurseen Consequences _which also used to be a single chapter. That and in my original planning, there was a lot of underutilized stuff and plot points that go back years._

 _All in all, it's finally done._


End file.
